Say, All I Need
by HermoineGirl03
Summary: What would happen after 4 years, 6 months, and 2 days? Would it still be there? Lucas knows he still loves her, and Brooke is sure she still loves him, but would it still be there? Would their love finally succeed? Would his final decision be her?
1. All We Are

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hellloooo everyone!

I've decided my other story SUCKED, I was in 6th grade when I started it and it was going nowhere.

This story, I hope it goes better.

I really like this one.

Im such a major Brucas fan and I have so many ideas for the two of them that I'm deciding to give this story a REAL try.

I want to keep it updated rather frequently, and I'm really going to try to.

So go ahead and read and [hopefully enjoy!

I also DO accept criticism and help on my stories so feel more than free to do so :)

**DISCLAMIER!: I DEFINITELY do not own One Tree Hill or any characters in this story. All rights are reserved for Warner Bros. and the CW. **

**Chapter 1- ****"All We Are"**

-

Lucas watched her.

4 years, 6 months, 2 days.

That's how long it'd been since he last saw her.

He couldn't understand how it was possible for him to forget how absolutely beautiful she was. Perfect, in so many ways.

In every aspect, she was a goddess.

Like a sweet poison. So incredibly bad for him yet so addicting. He could still feel her running through his veins after all this time.

He wondered if he would ever get rid of her memory, her scent, her amazing way of making him feel so loved like never before.

She wasn't his anymore. She hadn't been his for so long, he almost forgot that she ever was. But he could never forget. There was no way he'd ever be able to forget her. No matter how much he wanted to.

"Brooke."

"Lucas!"

The way she said his name still. Her raspy voice laced with such care and sweetness, yet still protective. All that she could say with just 2 syllables.

"When did you get back?" He walked over to her, determined not to touch her. He was afraid of what would happen if he did.

"Uhh, not too long ago actually. I'm actually supposed to be in Milan right now, but I just really thought I needed to be home right now. That and Peyton called me." Brooke was just as protective and devoted to her friends as ever.

"You talked to Peyton?" Even Lucas himself hadn't talked to Peyton. Not in 4 years, 4 months, and 2 days.

"Yeah. I still try to keep in contact with her, you know. And what about you, haven't you been seeing her?" Brooke was lost now.

She was sure that Peyton and Lucas were still together. Peyton had never mentioned that she hadn't talked to Lucas since that summer 4 years ago.

"No, I actually haven't. She came back for a few days when summer was over, you know after you guys left for L.A., but after that, it just-well it just didn't work out."

It was impossible for him to go into detail about it. How could he? The only people who knew why he and Peyton were no longer so in love were himself and Peyton.

Of course, Brooke should know, he knew that, but how could he tell her?

"Really? She never told me. I always asked her about you and she just told me you were fine." Brooke was curious about what could have possibly happened between Lucas and his precious Peyton to make them stop seeing each other and would normally have asked outright, but she didn't fail to notice how he had cut his words off, obviously trying to hide the reason.

"So how have you been? Well, I mean, I know how you _seemed_ to have been. The biggest fashion label out there. I always knew you'd be great, there was no way you wouldn't be amazing." Lucas said with a slight smile.

He remembered the very last time he'd had a one on one conversation with her. He remembered telling her, or rather showing her what he had written in his novel. She was going to change the world. He believed it then as he believed it now. In his opinion, she still had more changes to make to the world.

Brooke chuckled.

"Yeah, it's great. It's a really busy lifestyle but not one I'm not used to. It's like back in high school, running around with loads of money and popularity only now, I'm doing it myself." The famous Brooke Davis confidence.

He never missed it. She had such a poise and cofidence in herself that made everyone else around her seem self conscious.

As he looked at her, he couldn't picture anything better than just kissing her like he had before. He wanted to feel the world melt around him and to think that it was just Brooke and him and their bodies and their hearts that existed in the world. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how much he'd always loved her, even when he loved Peyton too. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was that he'd ever caused her so much pain to make her break up with him. He wanted to take back the last four years where he sat and wondered if it was okay to be with Brooke now or if she would want him back.

He _needed _all these things to happen.

But the problem was, he couldn;t do that to Brooke. He couldn't break her heart again. As much as she would hate to live with that, he'd hate it more. So for now, he just had to deal with being friends and hope that she would realize they were meant to be all along.

So, he did the next best thing to what he really wanted to do.

"I missed you Brooke. Can I at least have a hug?"

She smiled and walked over to him. He wrapped one of his arms around her middle and the other around her neck while smoothing her hair. And of all the things in the past that he failed to notice about Brooke and her feelings, things that were so important they could make this moment be so much more than just a hug and a "Welcome back after 4 years", things that could have saved the two of them and made them even more in love without all the break ups, he failed to notice the small smile and the look of regret in his pretty girl's eyes.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Was it terrible? I mean, you can really tell me. I won't get mad. Criticsm is MORE than welcome. Just let me know :)

Jessica :)


	2. How to Save A Life

**AUTHOR' NOTE!:** Alright guys, I'm back with a new chapter a LOT sooner that i thought but I know that you guys could use some hope before tomorrows episode and I could also use some too. Also, has anyone seen the "Leyton" wedding pic running around youtube and all over the net? Not cool! I think its part of a dream sequence because I read confirmed spoilers for season 5 and I know that Lucas is supposed to marry...well, I won't spoil it for you. Anyways, I wanted to let you know that all of this right now is Brooke and Lucas's thoughts. MY story is written kind of like a third person omniscient, the narrarator can see, feel, and know what Brooke and Lucas are thinking so don't let that confuse you. Also, the titles are from songs I like that, in my head, fit the chapter. This one isn't as good because there is no dialogue, but it's a lot of Brooke's feelings and to me it seems a bit out of order and it didn't come out EXACTLY how I meant for it too, but i hope it works. Enjoy! And keep hope for BRUCAS![Also, in case you weren't sure, there is no Lindsey. I really do like her, but she just didn't fit the way I want the story to go. And you'll fund out why Pucas broke up in a few chapters)

**DISCLAIMER!: ** I absolutely PROMISE I own NOTHING from One Tree Hill! It's all yours WB except that I wish it was mine :)

**Chapter 2- "How To Save A Life"**

**-**

Brooke Davis.

Even now as a 22 year-old woman with an amazing and highly successful career, more money than she could spend, and looks that any girl would kill for, felt like the same 17 year-old girl that was head over heels in love with that boy.

Lucas Scott.

Nothing could bring back her feelings for him more than the feel of his skin on hers.

After exactly 4 hours, 11 minutes, and 52 seconds, that feeling burned as fresh inside of her as a newly ignited flame.

But just as back when she was that 17 year-old girl, she wondered why he could do that.

She'd never felt a love so strong.

She had been used to dissapointment and not having any attention from the people that really mattered.

Until she met him.

Even she couldn't believe how much she loved him sometimes, so how was it possible for her to begin to explain it to him?

He just...completed her.

She always wanted him to be hers, even when she was hurting because of him, she just wanted him.

But, he hadn't been hers for a long time.

Maybe he never even was.

When he and Peyton had cheated on her the first time, her immediate thought, even before the one of her bashing both of their skulls in, was that they were right.

Peyton had somehow always had first dibs on Lucas.

She may not have claimed him as soon as she could have and should have, and that was where(Brooke felt) was Peyton's biggest mistake. That's why Brooke blamed her.

But she never hated Peyton for it.

She wasn't as in love with Lucas as she made herself look, and even though it hurt, a LOT, Brooke always knew she could forgive Peyton and Lucas for that.

Until they did it again.

That's something Brooke hated them both for.

Especially Peyton.

She made Brooke feel _terrible_ for loving Lucas and for having him.

And she did. Love him. More than she ever loved anyone in her entire life.

She still did.

Just like she still loved Peyton.

But that was just it. She realized she couldn't have them both at the same time. And if she couldn't have them both, they should have had each other.

That way no one got hurt. Except her.

That's why she dumped him. Her pain was so much more bearable than the pain it would have cause Lucas and Peyton.

Of course, that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted Lucas to still be _her_ boy and Peyton to still be _her_ best friend. She wanted the two of them to be _friends._

But more than she wanted that, she knew Peyton needed Lucas more.

And she wanted Peyton to be happy.

She also wanted Lucas to be happy.

Brooke would never admit all that to them though.

She knew she was still in love with Lucas, she knew it when she broke up with him, when she gave him her blessing to date Peyton, when she saw them kissing and being in love, when she had to say goodbye to him at graduation knowing that she was saying goodbye to him forever, goodbye to him being in love with her.

And even now, with the new info of him and Peyton not working out, she still wouldn't admit it. It was just a matter of time before the two of them realized they wanted each other more than they wanted her.

And as Brooke sat in her fabulously priced 7000 dollar a night hotel suite ready to meet her "best friend", she finally understood that it was her, and no one else.

Brooke wasn't enough...for anyone.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!: ** Was it okay? I changed it a bit from what was on my paper. Basically, I think that's how Brooke feels. She's not enough and she wants Lucas and Peyton to be happy more than she wants it for herself and she thinks that the only way for them to be happy is for them to be together.

I know its not very BRUCAS-Y yet, but I have to build up to it. I have absolutely no idea where this story is gonna go, but I hope it goes somewhere good.

Thank you sooooo much for the reviews! I;m so happy people actually like it so far. I feel obliged to keep writing and not let you guys down. But I'm only 15 so its gonna be hard, haha.

The next chapter will be a lot of Brooke-Peyton interaction because no matter how much Peyton screws up with Brooke, their friendship is too strong to throw away.

Later guys:)


	3. Favorite Sin

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Alright, you guys have absolutely NO idea how much your reviews are encouraging me to keep going. I'm so scared that I'll run out of things to write, but when I read your reviews, it makes me think of how I feel when I read a really good story that I want the author to update really fast and I HATE when they never update it, so I'm really going to try to keep this story going. My ideas are not preplanned, they come to me as I'm writing. Sometimes, it won't make sense and sometimes, it'll be all jumbled but this is just how I want it to happen and it's happening in my mind. But, I'm happy you like it so far.

And, another thing, this story won't be like all the others where it's JUST Lucas fighting to get Brooke to understand he loves her, it's also gonna be about Brooke convincing Lucas that she does want him and she wants to fight for him, but how it all seems useless when the only thing he does is rescue Peyton. They are both finding revelations about their love and they're realiazing they both have a LOT to work on.

But first, we need to get them making out again :) This chapter will be Brooke Peyton and as of right now, which I'm about to start writing too, I'm not sure if they'll argue in this chapter or not so we're all just gonna have to wait and see how this chapter ends I guess

**DISCLAIMER!:** Mark Schwann, you are an AMAZING director/creator/producer and everything else of this absolutely wonderful show that as much as I would LOVE to take credit for, I can't. It's all yours and I just thank you for handing all of us Brucas fans the storyline to work off of.

**Chapter 3- "Favorite Sin"**

-

Peyton Sawyer.

That was Brooke's "best friend."

But not her only one.

She also had Haley, or her "tutor girl, wife, mom" and pretty much any combination of two words fit together to describe her at the moment. Haley was her support system all the way, she never doubted Brooke.

And then, she had Rachel. Rachel was Brooke's double which is why they got along so incredibly well and fought constantly at the same time. Brooke liked to think of Rachel as her protector.

But Peyton...she was different.

Peyton had been the very definiton of "best friend" to Brooke. They would tell each other everything, _everything._ They went everywhere together and did all the same things. Brooke had always thought it was such a good thing because if they liked everything the same, they'd never disagree or fight.

Until, of course, that boy came along.

That stupid, yet wondeful boy that made her and her best friend fall faster than anything. He made them fall in such a great way they both thought it would be as soft as fether-downed pillows when they landed, but found out too soon it was like hitting asphalt.

Because it hurt.

But Brooke was tired of thinking about that. She was tired of thinking about how much her best friend had hurt her. She trusted Peyton before with everything she had and when Peyton took it away, she'd never get it back the same.

Which is where it left them now.

Best friends still, better than before even because now all the secrets lay exposed with dead weights on them.

But they were okay now.

But the question that remained in Brooke's mind, the one she thought about ever since she got that call from Peyton and realized they both needed to be in Tree Hill, along with a certain other someone who seemed to be best at ripping her and her best friend apart, especially when they needed each other most, was how long would they be okay? How long would it be until the infamous love traingle was closed again, when two of the three paired up and one was left broken hearted and empty?

She didn't want to think about it.

She wanted a nice and fun evening with her best friend...while she could still call Peyton that.

"P. Sawyer!"

"B. Davis!"

Brooke ran to her curly-haired fake blonde friend at the speed of light. When she hugged Peyton, it was like hugging Lucas. An old love being reignited.

"Ahhh, you have no freaking idea how much I missed you!" Brooke said.

"Brooke, it's been what, like 5 hours since you saw me? And what happened after you dropped me off at the hotel, I thought you said you'd be back in an hour?" Peyton questioned.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just-I took a little field trip. Besides, I knew we were gonna hang out tonight. Forgive me?" Brooke flashed her ever famous dimples knowing very well that no matter the gender at the receiving end of her cute little defects, it worked every time.

"Forgive you? I don't know, maybe the old Brooke Davis is back to ditching her best friend for really hot guys."

Ouch.

No matter what way Peyton meant it, and Brooke was positive she was talking about a time WAY before Lucas, it still stung. Brooke forgot how good Peyton was at making a good comeback when someone hurt her by turning it into a joke. But Peyton had good reason and plenty of practice at it, so Brooke let it pass.

"Well, you never know, maybe I want a cute guy to go home with tonight. Sex tends to be better with boys, although I could use some pointers on how to get girls because well...you never know. And Anna was pretty into you."

Who was Brooke kidding, she couldn't let something like that go. The way she felt right now with all this Lucas-Peyton crap going around in her head, she figured if Peyton wanted to bite her, she'd bite back harder.

"Ouch." Peyton said.

Brooke could see the sadness in her eyes and she was guessing it was there before Brooke's nasty comment.

So maybe she should go easy on Peyton for now.

"Oh, you know I'm just kidding. Come on, we have a whole town to destroy tonight. We both look hot, the night is young, and we have more people to see. And flirt with of course." Brooke laughed. Of course, she was completely seriosu about everything she said, even the flirting part. She just wasn't sure who she was allowed to flirt with.

Brooke and Peyton headed towards Brooke's brand new Mercedes CLK 300. Fashion designers had to have to the best of everything right? When they were both in and bucled, she blasted her music.

_"You take all my problems,  
Belt them up, and throw them all away.  
With the pleasure comes the pain  
That only you could bring, oh. _

You've been given all I have;  
When you come around, I seem to give in.  
In a fight, I'll never win,  
'cause all the while, you're my favourite sin." 

"Since when do you listen to Within Reason? They're definitely not Justin Timberlake!" Peyton shouted over the music.

"They're just a good band. I don't just listen to hip-hop you know!" Brooke shouted back. Truthfully, Lucas had gotten her interested in the band. This was the song that was playing during prom when she was talking to Lucas about Peyton not being there, and when she said it was her fault, Lucas had this look in his eye, like the one she'd seen so many times but not enough times before. Like he really _loved_ her. That and the song just reminded her of their relationship sometimes. But PEyton would never know that.

A few minutes later, the pair had finally reached their destination. As they walked up the steps though, they heard something that was definitely not normal for the two people living inside.

_...he's four years old Nathan! He just wants to play basketball like his dad! Why don't you understand that?"_

_"Because! I'm not going to let his dreams get broken the way mine did! I don't want that for him! Besides, the less like me he is, the better off he'll be!"_

Brooke stood there, a bit afraid to ring the doorbell. She looked at Peyton who was wearing a similar expression to her own. Eventually, Brooke walked forward and rang the doorbell.

As it opened, Brooke felt a rush of emotions hit her at once. The first thing she saw was her best friend and former roomate, Haley James Scott, staring at her with shock, happiness, and anger etched into her face. And Brooke knew the reason for each emotion. She had missed Haley as much as she was sure Haley had missed her.

But that wasn't the only reason for the rush of emotions she'd felt.

Standing merely 10 feet behind Haley was the boy who had been standing between her and the woman standing next to her for the past 6 years.

"Brooke, Peyton, what are you doing here?"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Haha, I know. I hate it when people do that yet I do it myself. So, Peyton and Brooke didn't really argue but they did have a little exchange of cattiness which I think is natural for two girl best friends. And, DUN DUN DUN! Brooke and Peyton...in the smae place as Lucas...at once...a lot sooner than you and I expected.

It just kind of fit though. And also, I know this might be a bit confusing for you since i'm making it a little bit like seaosn 5 but not completely so i'm gonna clear it up a little.

-There is no Lindsey

-The same amount of time has passed since graduation and where they are now as in the episodes

-Everything that happened seasons 1-4 is the same in the story

-What happened to Nathan is still the same as season 5, as well as everyone else, all their careers and everything are the same, also the places they've lived for the past 4 years are the same as the show

-Lucas actually did see Peyton at the end of the summer[like the summer of graduation, where they would start college as freshmen in the fall because she cmae back for a little bit, but then they broke up because...you'll find out why later

-Lucas and Peyton have not talked since their breakup...at all

-Lucas has also not talked to Brooke since graduation and then of course, where they were in chapter 1, but Brooke and Peyton have kept in touch by phone and etc.

-Brooke has also kept in touch with Haley but has not had time to come and see her, Jamie, or Nathan since graduation, hence-Haley's surprised-edness

-I'm not neccesarily going in order of the events that are happening on the story like they do in the new season

-For example: Peyton and Brooke have gotten back TODAY[in the story, but Brooke dropped Peyton off at Peyton's hotel becuase she had to do something[she went to the Rivercourt and then back to her hotel Brooke and Peyton are now at Haleys house TONIGHT in the story, a few hours after they got back, to take Haley to TRIC to catch up but they find Lucas there who was going to go with Haley to TRIC himself[not knowing about Brooke and Peyton's intentions and so now they are all at Nathan and Haley's

I hope that makes sense :)

If not, just ask

Next chapter...I have no idea what it will be about


	4. The Blues

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Ahhh, you guys are still keeping me so darn encouraged! I really feel like I have absolutely no idea where to go with this thing but every time I read your reviews I just feel so obligated and I would feel so guilty if I didn't finish this and give it my best, plus, I watched the last 2 episodes of season 4 today[i have the season on dvd and Haley's speech encouraged me :) Also, the episode last night made me realize something. I'm making the characters seem SOOOO high school and theyre just not. I don't want them to seem like that. I don't want my whole story focused on the same stuff that has been reopened and closed so many times like Lucas and PEyton's betrayal and Brooke's insecurity. It's old, but at the same time I feel like it's the base of Brooke and Lucas's love and that they need to overcome ALL of the stuff in the past to move forward. I want to show Brooke forgiving, TRULY forgiving, Peyton and Lucas and not forgetting it, but letting go of it all finally. And I want to show Lucas proving to Brooke for the very last time that he really does love her and she is the one he REALLY wants. So, I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but I hope this chapter clears it all up a bit, especially between Lucas and Peyton. So here we go...I'm nervous :l

**DISCLAIMER!:** Haha, yes this again. I don't own it, there's no way I could ever think of it all like you did Mark, but I love your story and I gotta write about it since you seem to want to keep Brooke and Lucas apart and keep all us BRUCAS fans in the depths hanging on to the past moments and the current moments like our lives depend on it! Gosh, just put them back the way we were and it'll all be fine:)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 4- "The Blues"**

**-**

"Brooke, Peyton, what are you doing here?"

As the words came out of his mouth, he realized he'd said exactly what Haley said at the same time she said it. He also realized that his only two ex-girlfriends were standing side by side staring at him with expressions of shock and hurt.

Well, what else did he expect?

"What are you doing here Lucas?"

These words had come from his Pretty Girl's mouth. He sometimes thought that maybe it was too high school to still be thinking about her that way, he knew she had grown up. But he just couldn't resist. When he said those words to himself, it reminded him of their best times together and it encouraged him to keep fighting for her, which he still had yet to do, because he wanted those times to come back again.

"I, uhh, I'm here to celebrate with Haley." He stuttered.

"Celebrate? What are you celebrating?" Brooke asked, very curious as to what could be celebratory that she didn't know about.

Brooke looked at Haley who was about to answer but heard a crash somewhere within the 2 story house and went running to see what had happened.

"She started her teaching job today, at Tree Hill. Although from what it sounds like, it hasn't been going too great." Lucas pointed out sadly. Haley was having a terrible time not only at school, but at home too. She was dealing with a depressed husband, a class that was more than happy to show her they were in charge, and a four-year old son that was great, but really quite mischeivous. Lucas felt so bad for his best friend sometimes, but that was why he came over to help her as much as he could.

"Well, at least the high school hasn't changed. I remember all of my new teachers." Brooke said with a hint of mischeif in her eye that immediately turned to regret. "Oh no, poor Haley!"

Lucas laughed. Oh, the things she did sometimes without even realizing it. But that was what he loved about her.

Crap. He had to stop thinking that.

"Sorry guys, my _adorable_ son decided it would be fun to pull out every pot we own and bang on them with spoons." Haley's face was one that only a mother could pull off. It showed aggrivation and admiration all in one look.

"Haley," Lucas laughed out loud, "your pots are in a cabinet above the stove. How did he get up there?"

"Trust me, you'd rather not know." Haley whispered angrily.

The three of them laughed. Lucas realized that it'd been a really long time since this had happened. Just him and his friends together having a good time. Excpet, one of them was missing.

"Hey, where did Peyton go?" Haley asked.

Brooke looked around to see where in fact Peyton went.

"I don't know, she was just right here a few minutes ago." Brooke said.

Lucas looked behind Brooke. He felt bad. He had been so into his conversation with Brooke, no mater how little it had really meant, that he hadn't even noticed Peyton walk away. But at the same time, he hadn't had any contact with this beautiful brunette in four years. Just like with Peyton. But that was why, he wanted to make up for that and it seemed that for right now, it would have to be through little conversations. With both of them. Although he had a feeling that if a big conversation was in the making, it would be with Peyton first.

"Hey, maybe you should call her Brooke." Lucas stated, a little worried.

Brooke took out her iPhone and scrolled down to "P. SAWYER". Lucas could hear the ringing reverbarating, what he didn't hear was an answer.

"She's not picking up." Brooke hung up the phone and as she looked up, Lucas could see the worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll fnd out where she went." Lucas stated calmly. The last thing he wanted was for Brooke to get frantic considering he was starting to get a bit frantic himself.

"Uhmm, okay. Brooke where were you guys headed after here?" Lucas asked.

"We were gonna pick up Haley and then go to TRIC." Brooke answered.

"Alright, you and Haley go ahead there and see if she maybe walked or something. I'll go by her house and see if she's there."

"But why would she walk to the club or back home? You guys drove over here, it just doesn't make any sense." Haley said, pretty confused.

Lucas understood why. And so did Brooke, only for a different reason. But Lucas wasn't sure he was ready to let Brooke know the real reason he though Peyton had walked off after seeing him so suddenly. Brooke was fine thinking that Peyton didn't want to see him just because of their break-up. Why should he tell her _why_ they broke up before he was ready to.

"Maybe she just needed some fresh air." Brooke said, covering for Lucas. She glanced at him and upon seeing his expression knew she was right in her assumption that he hadn't told Haley he hadn't talked to Peyton in four years.

"I'll uhhh, I'll meet you guys at TRIC. If you find her, call me." Lucas said and started walking toward his car. As he passed Brooke, his arm brushed hers and for a moment, he got the same fluttery feeling in his stomach that he always used to get when he felt her skin on his. He smiled to himself, quite glad that his back was turned form the two women because he was sure in that moment, it would have given away all his secrets about the girl he'd just touched.

He drove to Peyton's house, although he knew she wasn't there. He just needed some time to think about what he was going to say when he found her since he was pretty sure he'd be the one to find her first. Even though his feelings for Brooke were crystal clear to himself, he still wasn't so sure about Peyton. He had loved her once, he had been in love with her once. He just was so baffled about why he had stopped being in love with her. He still cared about her and he did love her, but not like Brooke.

But why?

What was so different with him and Brooke that made him feel so good all the time? What was wrong with Peyton? He always thought that your first love was the one you'd end up with in the end. But that couldn't be true because Brooke was the one he wanted and needed. He'd known that for so much longer than he'd care to admit. But even when he dated Peyton the second time, it felt like he was in love with her. He had wanted her. But not as much as Brooke.

It frustrated him to no end. Peyton was so easy. He had always had her, he'd never had to fight for her before. If he wanted her, he could have had her. She would have been perfect to be in love with forever because he'd never have to worry about losing her. So why did his heart keep telling him that Brooke was his forever, his destiny? What made her so special?

As he pulled up to his destination, these thoughts still racing around in his head, he thought he had the answer. But it just didn't make sense. Or it did. But would it make sense to Peyton when he finally had to explain it to her.

Well, he was about to find out. Sure enough as he thought, Peyton was sitting at the picnic table residng in his favorite place in the whole world. The Rivercourt.

He guessed she had wanted to talk to him by herself without making it conspicuous because if there was one thing about Lucas Scott that never changed, it was the fact that you could always find him when you needed him...at the Rivercourt.

"Hey you. You know, for someone who hates people leaving, you did an awfully good job at it yourself." Lucas said as he walked up to her. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to sit down next to her after four years of silence and hurt he was sure he had caused her.

"Well, I was sure you'd find me eventually. Besides, I didn't want to interrupt your conversation with Brooke." Lucas searched for the sarcasm or the bitterness he was sure had to be dripping in her voice, but he couldn't find it. Why?

"Peyton. I-haha, wow. Lucas Scott, author of a best selling novel, master of using famous quotes in the right situations, and I don't have a thing to say." Lucas said. He meant it, what was it he could say? He hated this continuous old high school drama between him and Peyton and Brooke over who he loevd more at the moment but sometimes he thought that's how it would always be. A constant struggle, having to explain to each of the two girls who it was he wanted to be with at the present time.

"Well, maybe you should start with, 'Hi Peyton, I'm so sorry I haven't made an attempt to talk to you in the past four years. I just wanted to tell you I was in love with your best friend and I couldn't stay with you but then never do anything about it or bring it up ever again because I enjoy tormenting you and Brooke playing tug-a-war with both of your hearts.' Or, I guess you could tell me who it is you decided your in love with today. But then again, I'm not sure if that would work either because you change your mind every time you talk to one of us." There was the sarcasm and bitterness he was looking for!

"Peyton, when I told you that, I just- I didn't know what I was doing. I mean I did, but I din't want to hurt you...or Brooke. I guess I just realized that I never really got over Brooke and-"

"Then why did you go out with me again! I don't understand Lucas! Why would you tell me you loved me and that I was the one you wanted standing next to you when all of your dreams come true and stop fighting for Brooke if it wasn't what you wanted! Why?! Do you like hurting me that much?! Did you sit back and laugh when you get home after we spent a whole night together supposedly having fun or when I finally slept with yo? Is it something you enjoyed?" Peyton screamed at him.

"No, of course not! Peyton, I never liked what I did to you. For the past four years, I've had so much regret over the way I broke up with you! I never wanted it to end that way! And, you know, in high school, I did want to be with you. I did love you and I was happy when I was with you! I stopped fighting for Brooke because I thought if I had you, it wouldn't hurt so much to not have her but that doesn't mean I didn't want you." Lucas said. He was being honest. He didn't want to lie to Peyton ever again, he had done enough lying to her. Their entire relationship had been a lie.

"Lucas, I don;t want to fight with you. I'm angry, yeah. I'm hurt, sure. But I've had four years to deal with all of this. I'm not here to tell you I want us to be together again or to make you feel bad about it all. You heard everything I just told you four years ago in a fight that I don't want to rehash. You obviously don't know why you did what you did, and truthfully, it doesn't matter anymore. I get it, you love Brooke. But..." Peyton paused for a moment, unsure of how to say what she wanted to.

Lucas was sure there was a lot more to Peyton's feelings than what she'd just expressed, but she was right. Their relationship had been over for four years. There was no point in bringing it all back up. But he knew that there was one thing that was left to say and he knew it before the words came out of Peyton's mouth.

"Lucas, you were in love with me once. And I really believe you loved me even after Brooke broke up with you the second time. I know that you wouldn't have dated me and told me you loved me if you didn't mean it. But just...why did you fall out of love with me? Why is Brooke the one that you're meant to be with? What is it with her that makes her so different from me? Why does she change everything when it comes to you and me?" Peyton was pleading now.

Lucas thought about it. He'd always thought about it, more than Peyton and Brooke could ever imagine. The words that just came out of his blonde curly haired ex-girlfriend had once came out of the mouth of his brunette beautiful other ex-girlfriend as well. And finally, standing there in that spot, a spot he would remember forever from that moment as the greatest spot in the world because it was the only place he'd ever been in that helped him realize where his greatest mistake had been. Back when Brooke asked him the same question out in the worst thunderstorm Tree Hill had ever seen, he'd known the answer. But it didn't make any sense to him until now. It never made sense why after he had seen Brooke and Peyton dancing and laughing around the fire they'd built on the beach, actually burning his letter he'd written to them confessing his love to Peyton, when he realized that it was Brooke he was in love with. It never made sense when he got so jealous over Brooke's "benefitial friendship" with Felix. It never made sense when he told Brooke he wanted to be with her and still felt the same way even after her non-exclusive dating crap she'd put him through, and having a front row seat to her screwing Chris Keller. Even in the moment when he stood in the rain and told Brooke why it was her and not Peyton he wanted, the moment he understood why he really did want Brooke, it never made sense. But it did now. Finally, after almost 5 years, the love triangle he'd been trapped in was going to break open.

"Becaus Peyton. You and I, we never had _it._" Lucas stated simply.

"What?!" Peyton looked more confused than ever and it made Lucas laugh. He just realized how strange that must have sounded coming from his mouth but also how incredibly true it was.

"With Brooke," he started patiently, knowing this would take a lot of words and a lot of understanding and patience on Peyton's part, "I feel...whole. All the time. Ever since I met her, I've had to work hard to get her to be mine. I know, that counds crazy seeing as she practically seduced me the first time I talked to her. But it wasn't a physical thing. I had to work hard to get into her heart. She'd been burned so much by boys that her trust in any boy was almost completely worn out. But when I got into her heart, I realized how beautiful she was on the inside. I felt everything she did, and it was so much more than anyone had ever seen in her. But I felt bad because I never let her do that with me. I was so busy working to get into your heart, I made Brooke miss out." Lucas couldn't believe how easy this was all coming out of his mouth.

"You took so long to let me into your heart Peyton, that eventually, I got tired of waiting. That's why I dated Brooke the first time. But when you finally did let me in, I'd been chasing you so long that I didn't know how to stop. You were already in my heart and I knew that it was easier to keep you in when you were already there than to try and let in someone new. So I did love you. I loved you a lot Peyton. But you never let me in the way Brooke did. You missed your chance with me the first time and because of that, you never got a second chance. For the longest time, I thought it was you. But when I saw you and Brooke on the beach right after I got back from Charleston, I saw it. I saw your's and Brooke's hearts before I ever saw your faces that night. And Brooke's was so much more open to me than yours was. And I realized, it was Brooke's turn to be in my heart. So I let her in. I fought for her and I loved her hard. I tried my best to let her all the way in and show her everything she showed me, but I was so scared to do that Peyton. Being rejected by your heart, it hurt. And Brooke caught the aftermath of that. So when she broke up with me the second time, I knew what I did. And I knew it was my fault. It wasn't her fault or your fault, even though we did kiss in the library, it was just mine. That kiss meant nothing to me Peyton. I'm sorry, but it didn't. And when we dated again, your kisses started to mean something again. But not like Brooke's did. I screwed things up with Brooke so bad because I thought my heart wasn't good enough for her to see. I didn't want her to be dissapointed in what she saw or felt, especially when her heart was the best I'd ever seen."

Even though he had more to say, things that might clear things up a bit more, he felt like that was it. What else was there? That's what he felt, that's what was the truth.

"Our hearts Peyton, they were never meant to love each other at the same time. That's why we've never felt _it_ at the same time. I was in love with you the first time and you were in love with me the second. But we missed each other. And somehow, my heart loved Brooke's at the right time. But I still hurt her. And now, I have to find a way to get back into her heart and show her everything she deserves to see in mine. Because now, I'm finally ready for her to be the only one in it. I've let go of you Peyton and I know you've let go of me. Your heart is amazing Peyton, it really is, it's just not meant to be mine."

That was it. Finally. Lucas said what he felt. After 5 years of carrying that around and just now undersatnding it, he felt like he could laugh and cry. He was so in love with Brooke Davis, he wasn't sure what would happen if he found out she could never love him back.

Peyton Sawyer was a girl, a _friend,_ he loved.

Brooke Davis was a girl, a girl he wanted to be with until the end of time, that he was in love with.

He finally knew the difference between the two and he was never happier.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Do you realize how long it took me to finish this?! Almost an hour and a half! And right now I want to laugh and cry because I'm so happy this chapter is over but at the same time, it reminded me of how much of a Brucas fan I really am! I love this chapter, that's what I feel like Lucas is feelling every time i watch him with Brooke and I'm just so happy that everything I was thinking got into words in the right way! I'm really proud of myself right now becuase I feel like that turned out so good.

Okay, oh my gosh, I gotta breathe. WHOOOO! Okay, that was a breath. Peyton's reaction is coming in the next chapter but right now, I need sleep. I hope you guys like this one and thanks for my reviews!


	5. Bittersweet Symphony

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Okay, I know it's been a few days since I updated and I'm sorry, but I needed to read some more stories to get inspiration for mine, even though your reviews were amazing! I really did love his speech, I felt like I did a good job with it. I just feel like that now Pucas is REALLY over, or it will be, what should I have happen to Brucas before they get together? I mean, everyone has done everything that can happen to them. Either Brooke gets pregnant or she leaves or Lucas hooks up with Peyton or another girl or one of them dies or something. I just don't know what obstacles to put them through before it's finally finished. That's what will take me so long to update but this chapter is gonna show us how Peyton REALLY feels about what shes done, she knows that it isnt meant to be her and Lucas and she is finally going to realize exactly what Brooke meant when she said[flashback to 3.22_ "I gave you a second chance Peyton, and you blew it!"_ Thats something I think Peyton really needs to come to terms with in order for her and Brooke to honestly get past the love triangle. So here we go...

**DISCLAIMER!:** One Tree Hill is all yours Mark!

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**Chapter 5- "Bittersweet Symphony"**

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"Oh my God."

Lucas watched Peyton intently. He was waiting for a slap or a shriek or a curse or something, _anything,_ to break the silence that existed from his last words. He wouldn't apologize for his speech, it was completely true, but he also didn't want Peyton to hurt forever over him. That wasn't fair.

"Peyton, I'm sorry. I know how terrible that sounds since that's the only thing people really know how to say when they mess up, but I am. It's the only thing I can say that even begins to explain how bad I feel about hurting you...and Brooke." Lucas said sincerely.

"Oh my God." Peyton said again.

Lucas was starting to wish she'd say something else. Even if she yelled at him or hit him, he wanted to know how she felt.

"Is that it? I just give you the exact reason why I'm in love with Brooke and not you and that's all you can say?" Lucas said a bit irritated.

"Lucas...I-I can't believe...oh my God!" Peyton said again.

"All this time...I never even realized." Peyton had a look that Lucas had never seen before. Or at least, not one he'd seen on her. There was only one other face that he'd seen like that. A face that he would never forget. It was the face of someone that realized the person they loved was in love with someone else.

That was definitely a face he'd seen before...twice.

"Is this how she felt? I mean really? Is this what she had to deal with? Is this what we put her through?" Peyton was almost whispering looking completely blank. She wasn't even looking at Lucas, she looked as if she were feeling all the pain that ever existed in the world. But Lucas didn't completely understand why.

"What are you talking about Peyton?" Lucas asked.

"Brooke. I just want to know if this is how it felt for her. When she realized, or thought, that you loved me instead of her. Is it possible she felt this bad? Because if she did...how did she ever forgive me?" Peyton still looked so lost. But Lucas wasn't anymore. He understood what Peyton was feeling. He'd had that feeling himself before although he guessed it didn't hurt as bad for him as it was for Peyton now.

When Brooke had been with Chase, when she kissed him or laughed with him or let him guide her through the halls with his arm wrapped around her tiny waist and Lucas had been watching, he felt it. It wasn't jealousy...or maybe it was a little bit...but it was also something else. It was the feeling that the person you loved had moved on to someone that made them feel better than you ever had. And as Lucas thought about that, he remembered the unbearable pain he'd felt for so long and he had to literally slap himself to stop thinking about that pain.

"We must have hurt her so much Lucas. I never really though about it. I just always thought she was being overdramatic or unreasonable. Like when she told me that I blew my second chance, I hated her for that because I thought she was being so selfish. I thought that you were mine first and the only reason she had you was because I didn't want you. But now...I don't know what to think. You tell me that it was never me, that our hearts missed each other and I just don't know how it happened. How did we get here Luc? How did we both stray so far away from our relationships with Brooke just to have a relationship with each other that we're finding out didn't really ever mean anything?" Peyton finished finally looking up at Lucas expecting him to have another brilliant answer.

He thought about it for a moment. He understood what Peyton was saying. But he hadn't ever felt the way she said she did. He had always felt bad about the pain Brooke was going through, he had never overlooked her pain by thinking of his own happiness. But apparently Peyton had. Peyton was telling him that she had ignored Brooke's pain and wrote it off like it was Brooke's fault that Brooke was in pain. Peyton had thought of her own happiness and what she wanted more than she thought of how much it was costing her best friend. This made Lucas mad.

"I know how I got here Peyton. I always chose you over Brooke because I was confused and I didn't want to hurt you. But I never did what you did. I never ignored Brooke's pain. I always felt remorse over it, that's why I tried to stay her friend and look out for her. But I knew that she was giving you and I a chance because she wanted happiness for us more than she wanted it for herself. And I dated you because I really thought that Brooke didn't want me anymore. I wanted her to be able to move on if that's what she wanted. I wanted her to be happy. But you Peyton, you never did that! You never cared whether or not Brooke and I were happy. Did you think that you deserved it more or something? That because of everything you've lost, you thought it wasn't fair for you to lose anymore?" Lucas was pretty angry now. How could Peyton ever think like that?

"Peyton, _you're_ the one responsible for repairing your friendship with Brooke. I can't take the blame for tearing you guys apart anymore. If you wanted to be happy more than you wanted Brooke to be happy, then that's your fault. But I can tell you this. I'm gonna win Brooke back. I'm gonna do what you did all this time. I'm ignoring your pain and what you want to be happy, and I'm focusing on what I want, and what Brooke wants." Lucas said with a look of deep dissapointment towards Peyton.

"I don't know if Brooke will be able to really forgive you, but I do know that you need to try everything you can to help her to. I can forgive you Peyton, and I can forgive myself. We lied to each other and to Brooke and that's something I can own up to. But can you?" Lucas asked.

"Lucas," Peyton said nearly crying, "you don't understand. You're right, about all of it, about me ignoring Brooke and her pain and me thinking that she ignored me all that time. But I never thought I deserved you more than her. I just thought I wanted you more than she did. She's my best friend and the last thing I ever wanted was to hurt her like I did, but I just didn't know how much you loved her. How much she loved you. And now, I don't know what to do." Peyton was crying now.

"The last four years, you and I have been over. I knew that. But I never moved on, I never told Brooke that we were over. I thought that she would go running back to you without even thinking if I still loved you. But I should have known better. I should've known that she wouldn't do that to me. She wouldn't have ignored my feelings and thought of her own because she's never done that. I was just so scraed that I'd never find someone like you again that I wasn't ready to give you up. But I was selfish. The last four years, you guys could have been together. Even in high school, if it weren't for me, she would've never broken up with you. So I'm sorry Lucas. I'm sorry that it;s taken me so long to give you up. And I'm sorry that it's my fault you don't have Brooke." Peyton finished with tears rolling down her cheeks in waves.

Lucas looked at her and couldn't help but to feel really guilty about everything that just happened. It wasn't completely her fault, he knew that. But everything she just said was pretty true. He could have had Brooke the last four years if it weren't for Peyton. He could've stopped himself being so confused and lost if he would have told Peyton in high school that he wasn't in love with her. But he didn't.

Now, the only thing for him to do was to get ready for a fight. He knew that the one he had coming, the fight for Brooke, his "fiercely independent Brooke Davis", was going to be a long and cold one. But he was determined to come out the winner. And now, he had just one thing left to do before it all came rushing at him.

"Peyton, I know that this has really been pretty much implied the last four years, but just so we're clear before I get ready to to tell Brooke all this, we're over. We both have a lot of regret and a lot of remorse over all the lies and heartache from the past, but now, it doesn't matter. We know the truth now. I'm in love with brooke, and I hope that you and I can be friends." Lucas smiled.

Peyton stared at him for a moment with puffy eyes and red cheeks, and then she smiled. Lucas walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to comfort her with one of his famous hugs. They stood there for a moment and when they finally broke apart, they both knew: the undetermined love triangle was at it's conclusion.

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"Ughhhh!" Brooke shouted in frustration as she slammed her phone on the counter at the bar.

"Neither one of them are picking up! I called Peyton's cell and Lucas' but they're not answering!" Brooke shouted at Haley over the loud music blaring through the club.

"Maybe he found her and they're talking or something! I mean, they haven't had a conversation four years! the last time they talked, they broke up. Maybe they're trying to do some damage control!" Haley shouted back at Brooke.

Great. That was exactly what was going to make this night suck less. Peyton and Lucas, chatting it up in her bedroom about their undying love for each other and how it was a mistake they ever broke up.

But she couldn't think like that. Peyton was her friend. She wanted Peyton to be happy. And unbelievably, she wanted Lucas to be happy too. She just had to get over it. They were in love with each other. Brooke had known this for four years, she'd had plenty of time to deal with it. She blamed it on having to see each of them again. That and knowing now that they were broken up. Peyton hadn't mentioned Lucas at all in the gap between graduation and now. Brooke thought it was because Peyton didn't want to upset her by talking about how happy they were. But really, she just didn't want Brooke to know their little fairy tale had tunred into a nightmare. This is what made her so angry.

How could Peytonn have not trusted Brooke enough to tell her that Peyton and Lucas were over? Did she think that Brooke would just go flying back to Tree Hill and jump back into bed with him if she heard that he was single again? Peyton should have known Brooke would never do that. When she gave him up all those years ago, she meant for it to be permanent. Twice was more than enough of having her heart broken by the same guy. She wasn't looking for that again.

Maybe, if Peyton and Lucas weren't getting together again, Brooke and Peyton could both really move on from him together. They could console each other and talk about everything that happened without one of them getting jealous over the other.

Yeah right! Brooke knew that would never happen. Brooke knew Peyton would never admit it, but she had a lot more to be sorry for than Brooke did. Brooke didn't do anything wrong. She had given Peyton plenty of chances the first time to get with Lucas. And even after Lucas and Brooke broke up, she thought Peyton would date him then and Brooke would have been okay with that eventually. But Peyton didn't. She waited until Brooke was _really_ in love with him and then she decided she wanted him. She knew how vulnerable Brooke was when it came to that blue-eyed blond-boy they both loved so much and she knew that Brooke wouldn't fight for him because she thought he was in love with Peyton.

And she was right. So now, the only thing to do was to move on and forget the past.

Easier said than done.

"Well, if you want, we can go over there to see if they're really there. I don't know why he's not answering his phone." Haley said.

"You know Tutor Mom, actually, let's just leave them alone. If he did find her, you're probably right, they're probably talking and they're not going to want to be interupted. And if he didn't, he'll be looking for her until he finds her. So how about you and I just hang out. I missed you so much!" Brooke smiled. She really had missed Haley. She had been so busy with her new life she never go to come down and see her. Or her godson!

"I missed you too! But we all understand. You're a celebrity now Brooke! It's a dream come true for you! I just hope that your happy." Haley looked at her with _that_ look. She was staring into Brooke's soul trying to figure out if she was really happy or not. Haley could always tell when something was wrong with Brooke. And Brooke loved her for that.

But she was determined to fool Haley. She had spent so long at being fake-happy, it came naturally to her now. And even tutor girl couldn't break that.

"Of course I am! I'm happy!" Brooke said with a dimpley smile on her face.

Happy.

Such a short word.

What a mystery it was though.

Who was really happy and how did they get that way?

More than anything, Brooke wanted to know that answer.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Ughh, this was the lamest chapter known to man. I keep repeating myself through Brooke and Lucas's thoughts but it's because I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm trying to read my favorite authors that write Brucas to get ideas or an inspiration but I just don't know what to do with them. I feel so inferior. Their stories are soooooooooo amazing and everyone reads them and I'm hooked on them and I want to be hooked on my own story but I'm just not finding the right ideas. It might be a while until I update, like a few days while I'm looking for ideas but I hope this is okay for now. Any ideas you could give me would be GREAT!

Jessica :)


	6. Long Way To Happy

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Hello again everyone, sorry it's been a few days since the last update, but I've been trying to find that little inspiration I need to keep going and I'm listening to it right now:the song from which this story's title originates-"Say All I Need" by OneRepublic. I really do advise you to listen to it, it's amazing and totally Brucas...in my opinion. Anyways, a couple of things before the chapter starts, did you catch the new episode? I missed the first 20 minutes, I was at my orchestra concert, but I caught the rest. I nearly barfed when I saw Lucas say "he's not good enough for you". Pucasgross! But I do wanna say, since some reviews are making me think that you guys think I hate Peyton, I don't! I LOVE Peyton, I just don't like her with Lucas. My story is not intended to bash her at all, it's just showing why she isn't meant to be with him. Also, Heath Ledger died and I'm very depressed about it so it might take me little spaces to update because he was such a good person and...ahh, I just don't want him to be dead. Anyways, this chapter, well I have no idea what will happen. But I am changing something **VERY IMPORTANT!** Lindsey will now be in this story since she has to be to make Lucas's character work but they're not dating! And I'm also stealing stuff from season 5 but I'm also kind of changing the way its laid out but you'll catch on as you read. Plus, one last little fact. This is gonna sound really lame and terrible to say as a writer, but I don't curse. I know it's needed sometimes in stories but I just don't like it. So, you won't see curse words in my story unless I feel like they're really needed. You will see one in this chapter but I just wanted to let you guys know I try to substitue the cussing with other words like "darn" or "heck". So if that does happen sometime in this story and you feel like it's fake and not what the character would say, just pretend your reading the actualy curse word. So here we go, let's see what happens!

**DISCLAMIER!:** Don't own it!

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**Chapter 6- "Long Way To Happy"**

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Happiness.

That's what Brooke wanted.

And this was where it started.

Home.

The first person that ever gave her a real home, beside Peyton, was now letting her take over a very special place.

Karen's Cafe no belonged to Brooke.

She was ready to have a life in Tree Hill again with her friends and family and all the people she loved thanks to Karen.

This place gave her an official reason to stay other than the few hidden agendas she really had for this little town that she secretly loved.

She loved her life in New York too, but for now, she wanted, _needed_, to be here.

The only problem would be constantly seeing him.

But no, she had decided at TRIC three nights ago that no matter how much it hurt to be in love with him, she still needed him in her life.

He inspired her.

Maybe in time, her love for him would fade into that of someone she could love as a friend.

Maybe.

"Brooke! Are you kidding me? I can't believe this! Karen's Cafe? How did this happen?" Peyton had just walked through the door that now belonged to Brooke smiling with disbelief etched into her face.

"Well, we both know that Brooke Davis has the power of persuasion and oh my God, I just talked about myself in the third person! Is Chris Keller here in town somewhere?" Brooke laughed out loud thinking of the annoying "rockstar" with an ego bigger than the state of California.

"Seriosuly Brooke! I can't believe this!"

"Well believe it! You know Peyton I just, I forgot how much I love it here. This place has so many memories for mer and Karen was gonna sell it anyway so I just...bought it!" Brooke said.

"Yeah but Brooke, I know that a part of you is staying because of me. I mean, I'm happy you came back for me, but you can't stay here forever, I won't let you. You have a great life back up in New York and I don't want to take that away from you. Peyton said looking concerned.

"Peyton, this isn't just about you. I did come back for you, you're right. But I'm not staying just for you. I'm staying for me and for Haley and Nathan and Jamie! I have to get to know the little guy! And Mouth is here and all the river court guys! And Rachel, she'll be fine in New York without me for a while. This is just something I want to do. Every major city in the U.S. and even some in Europe and Asia have _Clothes Over Bros_, so why shouldn't the place it was created in have one too?"

"That all makes sense Brooke, but aren't you forgetting someone?" Peyton asked.

"Who would that be?" Brooke asked with a slight innocence to her voice praying it was enough to conceal the sarcasm.

"Brooke, you know who I'm talking about! What about Lucas? I thought you guys were supposed to be friends now, what about him?"

"Oh yeah, Lucas! Well, I just included him with the river court guys!" Brooke said as she turned her back to walk back to the counter.

"You know, this isn't high school anymore. So you know what I want to do, once and for all, no turning back or jealousy or anything stupid coming with it? LEt's lay all the cards out on the table right now! Tell me how you really feel about him and I'll tell you the same." Peyton said following Brooke.

"Peyton, that's ridiculous, I'm not gonna do that! You guys just broke up, what does he have to do with anything involving me?" Brooke said starting to get a bit suspicious.

Why would Peyton want to know how she felt about Lucas? It was pointless.

No one knew about her feelings for him, especially Peyton, and she was trying to keep it that way. Peyton and Lucas would just hook up again in a few weeks anyway. Why was Peyton trying to bring up the past?

"It has to do with you because I didn't leave Haley's for no reason! You would think that my ex-boyfriend that I hadn't talked to in four years would have acknowledged the fact that I was standing there and said something. But he didn't notice me, he noticed you." Peyton said while leaning on the counter, _Brooke's_ counter.

"I still don't understand what that has to do with me. You didn't even tell me you guys ever broke up! How was I supposed to know not to talk to him?" Brooke asked slightly glaring at the curly blonde.

"I'm not saying you weren't allowed to talk to him but do you think it's just a coincidence that he noticed you before me?"

"I don't know what the hell it was but what you're saying Peyton is that _Lucas_ noticed me before you, so obviously that has to do with the _two_ of you and not the _three_ of us!" Brooke said nearly shouting. She wasn't exactly sure why she was getting so upset with Peyton, but she couldn;t help but think that Peyton was implying there was something between her and Lucas. There was nothing. There hadn't been for a long time, no matter what Brooke wanted.

"It does involve you Brooke! I'm just...I'm sick of this. I'm sick of the two of us fighting over him! I thought it would end after graduation but sometimes it seems like its going to be a lifetime thing!" Peyton said thrusting her hands out in frustration.

"I'm not fighting over him! Where do you get me "fighting" over him out of all of this? You brought him up! He's _your _ex-boyfriend!" Brooke said actually shouting now.

"He's yours too!" Peyton cried out.

Brooke just stood there motionless for a minute. That was the first time Peyton had ever really admitted that Lucas used to be Brooke's. She had said it before, but never like now. Never like she actually meant it. And certainly never like she meant it in a non-jealous way.

"What do you want from me Peyton?" Brooke said sighing in sadness.

"I just, I just want to know how you feel Brooke. About all of it. Everything since the day you first met him. We both have a lot of stuff to figure out with our lives, where we want our futures to go, and I think to do that, we need closure about the past. That doesn't mean we have to close Lucas out of our lives either, it just means that we have to stop letting him tear us apart. He doesn't want that, we don't want that either. He's not really the problem anymore, it's just us now." Peyton said in that pleading voice that always tore Brooke's heart apart. It was the voice of her best friend who needed help.

And Brooke had never let Peyton down.

Maybe the one person she thought couldn't be trusted with her feelings is really the only one that would understand them.

"Okay. Okay Peyton. If you really wanna know what I think, what I feel about it all, we're gonna need a couple of drinks. And I know just the place to get them."

They were about to travel back 5 years...

-

"LUCAS SCOTT!"

Whoa! That was definitely a wake up call!

Lucas held his phone about 5 feet away from his ear and shouted back to the very angry person on the other end, though not with the same emotion as he had just received.

"Yes Lindsey?"

"I NEED SOMETHING! You haven't written _a word_ in 4 months! You kept telling me you had something! I need something Lucas, anything! You were doing so good the past few years, writing something every now and then to send me, and I can deal with that! The first one is still selling really well, but soon, and I mean soon, people will be demanding a second novel which by the way, you haven't even thought of a title for!" Lindsey had calmed down a little so Lucas had pulled the phone a bit closer but still at a safe distance of about 3 feet.

"I know and I'm sorry! It's just, I can't write anything! I've got nothing! My first novel said it all, it was my whole life in one book. It's gonna take me a whole new life to write a second one!" Lucas said seriosuly starting to worry about that little fact.

"Well then I suggest you get a new life Lucas because if you don't have something soon, which I'm officially changing the definition of that word, like 3 weeks soon, I'll have no choice but to report this to the publishers. I don't want to, but both of our careers are on the line. So please, _please, _write something down!" Lucas heard the little click that signaled the call had ended.

Great.

Perfect.

Fantastic.

How many of his dreams would continue to die? It was cruel the way they had abandoned him. They flourished and grew into grand architectures of a life he could see himself having forever and then they were forcefully ripped from him as if they never mattered at all. Basketball and now his writing. That was 2 dreams too many to lose.

And then there was Brooke.

But he kept telling himself that maybe she wasn't lost yet, that there was still a small sliver of a chance he could regain his hope in that dream.

But where would he start?

He'd been thinking about that for 3 days, ever since he had ended his "relationship" with Peyton for good. He didn't know what he could possibly start with.

It was like a book. Like his new book that currently didn't exist. He had all the ideas but not the proper details. He knew what he wanted in the story but he didn't know where to fit it all. He knew how he wanted it to end but he wasn't sure how to start it. Maybe that was true in everything, not just literature.

Lucas sighed as he got up from his desk and walked out the door. Maybe his first crashed dream would inspire him to figure out what to do with the other not dead yet dreams.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** I'm sorry it's so short! Please, don't murder me! I really am sorry, but this is making me mad. I'm struggling with the same problem as Lucas, I have the ideas but not the details. Actually, I don't even have the ideas. You know what I need, tell me this please, tell me what you want Lucas to do for Brooke first. I know you guys want Brucas immediately but it just can't happen like that otherwise there'd be no story. But tell me what you think is very Lucas-y that he would do first to try to get Brooke. I know he's not just going to come right out and tell her everything he's feeling, but he's gotta do something to get it all started. So, please, give me your ideas and I will continue to write this to the best of my ability and keep it updated frequently. Otherwise, it might be a while for a new chapter because I need something to pop in my head to get this fight going. THANK YOU!

Jessica :)


	7. Look Who's Perfect Now

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Okay, before I say anything about the chapter or whatever, I want to say thank you to **bella, carrie, brucas448, brucas224, Brooke6404, othfan326, wtlozy, BRUCAS EQUALS LOVE, B.P.Davis, b pick, moonman, Kat, Brooke1622, truelovedoesntexist, brucas all the way, svblfb4life, and even BRUCAS SUCKS...LEYTON ROCK... **for the reviews you've given me. I honestly appreciate each and every one of them! But, I do want to comment to **BRUCAS SUCKS...LEYTON ROCK... **on the wedding still you saw: I am very much aware of that picture, I was one of the first people to see it while I was researching news on One Tree Hill, and even though it could quite possibly be a picture of their actual wedding if it were to happen, it could also be a picture of a dream Peyton or Lucas was having. I guess we'll find out soon though :) And I also want to say to **moonman, **thank you SOOO much for the criticsm! I honestly mean that in the least sarcastic way ever! I really appreciate you telling me what you think I could improve on because it will help to make me a better writer. I understand a little bit what you were telling me but maybe if you could give me a better example of like something I said in my story and then write it the way you thought it should be, that would help me to improve the dialogue. My email address is so if you want to email me or even review this chapter with an example, that's fine :) Just thank you again everyone for believing in this story and I promise I'm going to keep it going for as long as I can. Now, all the gratitude is out in the open, so I can start the chapter. But quickly I want to say that unfortunately, Peyton and Brooke's conversation will not be featured in this story. I mean, it will appear as like a flashback type of thing in later chapters, like tidbits of it, but I just don't want to write out the whole thing because I feel like it's pointless, we all know what Brooke is gonna say because I've expressed that through her thoughts and everything but you will see them at a certain place :) Alright, I'm going :)

**DISCLAIMER!:** Thanks Mark! Thanks for all the disgusting Pucas you're giving us, but we need Brucas back. So do the right thing :)

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**Chapter 7- "Look Who's Perfect Now"**

**-**

The Blue Post.

What a dreadful place this was.

It used to be the best place in the world to Brooke, it was where she first knew she wanted Lucas in her life as more than just a one-night give them sex and make them leave deal that she had always been used to.

And now, it made her feel like she was walking on needles with no shoes on.

How much better off would she be if she would have kept to her routine mind-set of sex and no love?

A lot. She knew that.

As she sat at the familiar bar with ironically, the same bartender that had been there 5 years ago serving her, she couldn't help but laugh. The last two times she had ever sat at this particular bar, she had been with the same two people that were giving her so much heartache now just as they had back then.

"There you have it P. Sawyer. You wanted to know how I feel, and now you do." Brooke said as she intently stared at the girl sitting beside her. She slightly smiled and turned back to her drink.

Peyton sat there for a few seconds, looked at Brooke out of the corner of her eye, and immediately took a long drink out of her glass filled with strong alcohol. When she finally turned back to Brooke, she decided to take a new approach. One she had never used before.

"I'm happy Brooke. I am. For you to tell me all that, maybe it could make our friendship stronger. I don't want this to keep us apart anymore. Now that everything is out in the open, no more secrets, I want it to stay that way. If you can promise me that you'll tell me when you're starting to hurt again, over anything, then I can promise you what you want." Peyton said with a finality in her voice that Brooke had never heard.

She looked into Peyton's eyes looking for a lie or deceit hidden somewhere that she was determined to find, because if she didn't, that would mean her best friend was telling her the truth and that hadn't happened in a long time. It would be too hard to believe.

After a few minutes of silence and staring, Brooke decided maybe it was time. Maybe it was time to trust Peyton like she had before. Maybe it was okay to start spilling her thoughts and feelings to the girl that had caused her to stop doing so. Even though it had taken Peyton this long to finally tell Brooke the whole truth, late was better than never.

"Okay Peyton. I promise." Brooke slightly smiled and turned to her best friend with bright eyes. She reached over to give Peyton a hug and couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly happy at the past 2 hours of her life.

Maybe now she could finally have her best friend back. Peyton would never be her friend like before, it just wasn't possible. Haley and Rachel had special places in Brook'es heart that Peyton could no longer venture into at her leisure just because of the time she's known Brooke. But now, if truth would come before anything in their friendship, maybe it would be possible to build it up higher than it had ever been. But just maybe.

"I believe you Peyton, about keeping your promise. It's just something I need you to do for now. I have to be the one to let everyone know when I'm ready." Brooke said a bit shy. This trust thing was going to be hard, but it was going to take a little bit of the old trust she'd had in Peyton, before everything, the trust that Peyton had _never_ told something of Brooke that wasn't true or wasn't meant to be revealed. This was a time when Brooke needed Peyton to stay true to that. And she honestly believed Peyton would.

-

Swoosh!

Right in the hoop, nothing but air and net, no rim or backboard, just the ball falling gracefully through the entangled ropes and landing perfectly on the blacktop just in time to bounce back to him.

Those were the moments he loved the most in basketball, the swooshes. There was no complications or worry that it wouldn't go in, although that did make it exciting, there was just the ball and it's destination.

And he never missed.

Lucas stood there for a while, just staring at his surroundings. Sometime she felt as if he took this place for granted when he was younger. Like he thought the feeling he got when he was there, standing in the one place that never changed, would never be different. He thought it would always stay the same. But he was wrong.

He'd been wrong a lot lately.

Maybe it was him that was changing. Maybe it was him who was causing all this pain and confusion for himself. He loved to blame it on the events in his life or the people or the tragedies, but those were just the things that shaped him. It wasn't life that caused him to feel like this, it was himself thinking too hard about what life was doing to him.

In the very spot he was in right now, four years ago it had all seemed crystal clear. He thought he would finish the last bits of his novel, get it published, become a successful writer with even more books to fill his personal shelves right now, become a great brother and uncle, stay in touch with all of his friends and family, and most importantly, he thought he would have been happy with Peyton and madly in love.

Wow, he'd really been wrong a lot lately!

It was amazing how everything could change without even knowing what was happening.

As Lucas continued to get lost in his deep thoughts, he failed to notice his very best friend walking up to him with a strange look on her face.

A face of worry.

"Hey you. You okay? You look like your 10 miles deep in another planet." Haley said as she continued to walk toward him. She sat down on the bench behind him and motioned for him to do the same.

"Yeah, I was just thinking." Lucas said as he went beside her and propped the basketball between his feet.

"Thinking. You wanna give me more insight in those thoughts or am I going to have to lecture you like the annoying teacher person I've become." Haley said sarcastically but also with a slight push in her voice, like it might encourage him to talk to her.

"You ever wonder what things would be like now if we could go back and relive our senior year differently? Like, if we had a choice now to decide how it would have happened, that we wouldn't be the people we are now?" Lucas said not exactly looking at her. He was looking ahead, not really sure what he was looking at. He somehow thought he should be looking behind him, like if he did, it would make the past suddenly rush back for him to jump back into.

"What do you mean Luke? What do you want to be different?" Haley said sitting a little straighter now searching his eyes for the answer.

What did he mean? He was so confused. He knew what he wanted in his life right now, but how would he get there? What was it he could do to make up for the past and set his future in the right direction?

"A lot of things! I don't know what I'm doing anymore! I feel like my life has become this big blur that keeps passing me by and I'm helpless to stop it. I feel like I have nothing to keep me going, maybe I've burned out all my potential and dreams and I'm back at the beginning with no road map!" Lucas rambled but at the same time, totally making sense to himself.

"Luke, you have a lot of things in your life! You have a successful novel that is beautiful and has changed a lot of people's lives! You have your mom and Lily! You have Jamie and Nathan and me! And now, you even have Brooke and Peyton back in town! Maybe it would be a good chance to start over with them. You haven't talked to either one of them since graduation. I was sure that when Peyton came home, you guys would realize you still love each other and try again. When you broke up, I thought maybe it was just because you were living so far apart. But she's home now, so why not try again?" Haley asked with that brutal curiosity that just killed him. She always seemed to be wondering why things were happening the way they were but she was also blissfully unaware of how far away she was from the truth.

Maybe he should enlighten her.

"Peyton and I aren't getting back together Hales. When I broke up with her, it was for good. We're too different to be together. We're so far away from who we used to be that it's not even worth fighting for anymore." Lucas said as he looked at her which he instantly realized was a mistake.

"You sure you aren't talking about you and Brooke? When they came over, Luke I saw how you two looked at each other. And as a former roommate and witness of Brooke Davis' relationship with you, especially when I was still in the apartment while your relationship was going full course, I know that look. It's a look reserved for her. I've never seen you give that look to Peyton. In fact, I haven't seen it on you since Brooke broke up with you." Haley said as she folded her hands together and raised her eyebrows with a look of accomplishment in her eyes, like she had solved the riddle.

Lucas just blinked at her in disbelief. That was Haley. She might be off on some things for a while, but that was just her trying to figure it all out. She was prying information from you without you even knowing it. But, she hadn't been class valedictorian for nothing.

Finally, when he thought he could hide at least what was left of the truth from her, he looked up at her and smiled.

"I have a look huh? You ever seen Brooke with a similar look?" He laughed slightly and stood up. He started to pace the court and think again.

He was going to try a different approach this time though. He was going to list all the things he knew already and then figure out where to go from there.

1.) Haley was his absolute best friend who, even though at the moment was dealing with an entire plate full of issues of her own, was still concerned about his happiness. He loved her for that.

2.)He had just spilled his guts to Peyton, his ex-girlfriend and other ex-girlfriend's best friend, about what he wanted with Brooke. He had to trust that she would be really selfish and refuse to tell Brooke what she had found out because maybe she wasn't ready to let Brooke have him back. Even though this could possibly be a bloody scenario for him and involve a lot of cat fights, it would at least guarantee his secret for a while.

3.)He was completely and without a doubt, no matter how much he wished there would be at least some doubt, in love with Brooke Davis. He wanted her back and he would stop at nothing to make her his again.

So, now that he had laid all the cards out on the table, or rather in his mind, he was back at the same place he started.

That last one. That last one was the problem. That last one would be the thing that was going to kill him.

And possibly that second to last one too.

Oh yeah, he was dead.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Short chapter, I take full responsibility and hate reviews if thats what it comes too but I have an excuse! My great grandma recently passed away and I've been dealing with that. Also, high school registration for next year is taking up a lot of time. I thought being a freshman was confusing, next year, when I'm a sophomore, wow! But, I do want to update after this really soon. I know it's still repeating a lot, but I'm waiting for a burst of inspiration. A Brucas scene is in the works, I just gotta figure out how to work it in here somehow. But at least now Lucas knows that he's running out of time to tell Brooke he loves her before someone else does, like Peyton or Haley.[who i'm really happy knows now, she's so important to Lucas and I thought she would figure out first that he still loved Brooke Brooke also has a secret that she has passed on to Peyton in hopes that she'll be able to keep it for now. And by the way, Peyton will be keeping this secret. Most definitely. Uhmmm, I think thats it. No idea what to do with the next chapter but I hope it'll be okay. Plus OMG! Major Brucas scenes in episode 5.05 "Things I Forgot To Remember To Forget"! Brooke still loves him, you can tell after he kissed her and she goes back home! It's so cute! Plus, the carriage ride was totally describing what they wanted between the two of them! Ahh, gotta love Brucas!

And a very special thank you goes to **justlikebrooke**, for answering my review and being so sweet! If you haven't read her stories, I HIGHLY recommend it because she has a true talent when it comes to writing.


	8. The Freshman

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Not much to say this time. This chapter will hopefully have a Brucas interaction though I'm not sure yet. I don't feel too inspired but I need to update to stay sane so I'll give this a shot.

**DISCLAIMER!:** We need Brucas back, we're losing hope, and though we fans don't own One Tree Hill, we should, because Brucas would have been back by now. You're evil Mark Schwann, yet we wouldn't have this show without you.

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**Chapter 8- "The Freshman"**

**-**

"Oh man, is everything really spinny to you?" Brooke asked as she stumbled in her heels, heels that were hard to walk in even when she wasn't drunk.

"Yeah! It's like, like we're on a carousel Brooke! Brooke, like when we were little, and we used to spin and spin and spin!" Peyton said as she actually started to twirl herself around as if she were back on that carousel.

"Peyton, Peyton, PEYTON!" Brooke shouted a bit trying to break Peyton from her imaginary ride.

"Peyton, we have to get back to the hotel! We can't stay out here like this, we could get in trouble." Brooke walked toward Peyton surprised her serious side was still functioning.

"No Brooke! Brooke no! I wanna stay out here and walk and spin! If we go back to the hotel, everything is just gonna be bad! Here it's good! Here we're friends and I'm not in love with Lucas and you are and if we go back everything will change!" Peyton said as she stumbled off the curb of the street they were walking down.

Brooke froze. Was this normal Peyton or really drunk and kind of crazy Peyton right now?

"Peyton, that's not- never mind, let's just get back to the hotel." Brooke said sadly as she threw her arm around her best friend's shoulders and nearly dragged her the rest of the way.

Peyton was so right. And that was what hurt. For the first time in her entire friendship with Peyton, Brooke felt selfish. She just felt incredibly selfish because what Peyton had just said had made her think. Brooke was always angry when Peyton said she had feelings for Lucas or when she found out that they had snuck around behind her back. And now, she felt like she was doing the same thing to Peyton. But was she really?

Would this stupid love triangle ever end? Was it even possible that they had tried so many times to close it but it just never happened? Why was it so hard for the three of them to realize who they were in love with and stick to it without changing their minds and breaking each other's hearts?

Brooke still had a lot of thoughts running through her head as she was still dragging a giggling Peyton up the steps of her hotel. She just figured Peyton could crash here at her apartment tonight, and maybe even until her secret was ready.

She stuck her key into the elevator to take her up to her private penthouse. As the doors shut and the sign above them _dinged!_, Peyton suddenly jumped and seemed like she had been hit with an electric shock.

"Brooke, where are we going? What was that noise? Are we going to see pyscho Derek? Because I thought we didn't like him! No Brooke, no, I don't want to see him!" Peyton said as she was frantically waving her hands in front of Brooke's face.

Brooke couldn't help but laugh at Peyton when she was drunk.

"No, we're going upstairs and going to bed. You're drunk and so am I and I'm tired and we're just gonna sleep okay?" Brooke said soothingly.

Finally, the elevator reached it's destination and the doors opened. Brooke walked forward with Peyton in the rear and she slid her room key into the door. She pushed open the door and as Peyton stumbled in after her, she realized she had a guest. A very unexpected guest.

"Lucas? Is that you?" Brooke asked, feeling stupid afterward. Of course it was him, there was no face like his, but she was so suprised that he was in her room at a very exclusive hotel she was paying a lot of money for, especially for privacy, that she couldn't help but ask and be confused as to why he was here.

"Yeah, it's me. I just, I wanted to come and see you and...are you guys drunk?" Lucas asked as he walked slightly forward squinting at Peyton dancing around. That was when the blonde noticed him.

"Luke! Yes, we're all here! Now we can have a party! Or we can drink more beer! Hey Brooke, you have a good tequila bar or something in this place right? We need alcohol, let's have some fun! Or, we can have truth or dare! Or actually truth since that's been going on a lot lately." Peyton said as she started blinking her eyes tiredly, most definitely without the capacity to stay awake and drink more even if the two people in front of her would allow it.

Brooke and Lucas both turned to Peyton at the same time, and both realizing that very recently, they had entrusted their deepest secrets to a very drunk and very hyper Peyton Sawyer.

"No Peyton, we need to get you to sleep. Or at least half asleep before you have to get up and puke your guts out." Brooke said as she walked toward Peyton and grabbed her arm. She started to guide her to one of the rooms in the suite when she realized she hadn't said anything to Luke's comment. He had come to see her. He had come to see her at night. In her penthouse.

Obviously this was going to be an interesting night.

"Brooke I don't wanna sleep! I wanna stay up and hear you and Lucas argue or talk or maybe make-well actually, I don't want to see that." Peyton said. That last thought seemed to sober her up a bit.

"Night Luke!" Peyton said as she yawned. She tore from Brook'es grip and shit the doot behind her, leaving the two ex-lovers alone.

Brooke stared at the door for a moment, a bit nervous to turn around. It was odd seeing him. She had spent so much time lately thinking about him that she hadn't thought it would be this hard to see him. She was wrong.

"Uhhh, hi!" Brooke said as she turned around and walked over to the couch. She had a feeling that if Lucas had come to talk to her at ten at night in her penthouse, it would require some sitting.

Lucas walked over and sat across from her. He didn't reply at first, just smiled. She sat there bedazzled for a moment wondering what he was smiling at when she finally spoke up again realizing he wasn't saying anything.

"So, uhh, not to sound rude or anything but how did you get up here? I paid the concierge a lot of money and wasted a half hour flirting with him to make sure I was the only one up here." Brooke said as she looked at him.

Finally he smiled a bit less and looked as if he would actually speak.

"Well, I guess we had the same idea to get up to this penthouse. I didn't really flirt, but maybe I paid him more." Luke said jokingly.

Brooke wouldn't have been suprised if Lucas didn't pay the concierge any money. He was just that good of a charmer. He could probably get anything he wanted off of his smile and personality alone. She and Peyton were living proof of that.

"Actually, I came to see you. We haven't talked since I saw you at Haley's and I just thought it'd be nice to catch up." Lucas said as he scooted forward a little in his seat on the very big and comfortable couch.

Brooke smiled nervously and started to get uncomfortable. She hadn't been in this close of an atmosphere with him in quite some time. The last two times she'd seen him, they had been outside in the open air where if something had went wrong, she had more than enough places to run to. Even though the penthouse was big, it was on the top floor and the elevator took a long time to get downstairs. He could easily run down the stairs and meet her quicker than she could escape should they get into an awkward conversation that would end up in an argument and him chasing after her.

It had happened too may times before.

"Okay. But if you want to talk, maybe we should go somewhere else because Peyton is gonna be throwing up for the next 6 hours and as much as I love her, I really can't stomach holding her back and seeing it all." Brooke said regaining a bit of her wit.

Lucas just chuckled and stood up. He reached out his hand for her to grab like he used to do. Brooke always loved it when he did that. She just looked at it for a minute and finally decided to take it.

As she stood up, he didn't let go of her hand. She was glad he didn't. She could feel it. The spark, that feeling like a thousand electrical impulses were racing through her body. All of a sudden she wanted to brad the back of his neck and kiss him until she couldn't breathe. She wanted to run her hands through his hair and tell him how much she loved him and how much she had missed him.

But baby steps. Even though she was quite sure Peyton was over him, especially after thier little chat tonight, she wasn't sure about him. And even if he were, it just wasn't the time. She had to keep convincing herself that if they were meant to be, then it would happen. But she wasn't going to force it or fake it. Not again.

They walked through her hotel and down past the lobby still holding hands. It was odd that they hadn't relinquished them yet but the feeling was so familiar, it seemed natural.

As they walked outside into the warm summer air and headed down the street, Lucas finally spoke up.

"So, how have you been? How's New York? A celebrity in my very presence, I should be honored." Lucas joked as he stared at Brooke's beauty. Her undeniable beauty.

Brooke looked at him and replied, "New York is...different than here. I mean, it's great, it's just bigger and more challenging I guess. But, I have Rachel to help me, we share an apartment. Well, I guess it's not so much an apartment as it is an entire floor of The Four Seasons but, it's still great. And the company is...thriving. We've opened so many locations in every part of the world and it just keeps getting bigger! And now, _Clothes Over Bros_ has it's very own location right here in the fabulous town of Tree Hill. Thanks to your mom." Brooke added this as an after thought to let Lucas know how grateful and touched she was that Karen had sold her very old and very special business to her.

Lucas watched her and smiled amazed at how little she had really changed when it came to her pride. Brooke Davis had a lot of pride, in her company, in her friends, in her life. Lucas knew she would take that same pride and apply it to his mom's Cafe, or Brooke's boutique now.

"Wow...Brooke, that's amazing. Your life, it sounds so perfect." Lucas said sadly. _Perfect._ That was the problem. How could he tell Brooke how he felt when her life was so incredible? He would never forgive himself if he told her he loved her and tore her away from her dream come true. Even if it meant giving up his.

"I wouldn't say it's perfect. There are more important things. If there's one thing I remembered since I got back home it's that nothing in life matters if you don't have people to share it with. That's why I was so relieved when Peyton called. She gives me a good excuse to stay here, this is where I want to be right now. And the new store, that's an excuse for my mom. She's gonna kill me when she realizes everything I've done since I got here but, it's my life. It's not hers. I'm tired of her controlling me and I'm gonna start standing up for myself and being my own person." Brooke said confidently.

They continued to walk until they nearly passed a really fine restaurant, _Deluxe._ It looked like a jazzy and sophisticated bar that had cocktails and swing music. It also looked quiet and calm. Brooke raised her eyebrows at the blond boy next to her as if to question him on whether or not they should venture further. He pulled her by her hand through the glass doors and smiled as they walked inside.

It was perfect. It was cozy and upbeat, but it seemed like the perfect place for two old friends to sit and talk calmly. To catch up.

The waiter who was dressed in a button down white collared shirt and black pants with fine itialian shoes on greeted them and walked them to an empty table near the corner of the restaurant where it seemed the lightest. As they sat across from each other at the small table, they looked outside and could see the people walking happily down the street underneath the street lights.

Lucas ordered a cocktail for himself but Brooke, thinking she'd had enough alcohol for one night, ordered a water instead.

A few minutes of silence passed before they looked at each other again. Brooke looked down at her hands and decided to fold them neatly in her lap as a way to pass the time. Finally, the silence was broken.

"So, you said earlier that your mom was going to kill you for everything you've done since you got here. You've only been here 3 days, I can't imagine any amount of damage you could've done in that short amount of time." Lucas said sarcastically as he took a sip out of his glass.

"Excuse me, I'll have you know that I have never caused any amount of damage in my life. Maybe a few unfavorable incidents but no harm was really ever caused." Brooke laughed as she looked up at him again.

"Hmmm, so you convincing me to get a tattoo, getting me drunk, and seducing me to the point of my loss of virginity doesn't qualify as damage? I think you should take that one up with my mom." Lucas laughed at the memories. Brooke laughed with him. It was a nice feeling, to stop thinking and just be. As awkward as it might have seemed earlier, things were certainly loosening up now as they quite often did in the wake of trips down memory lane.

"And your telling me you didn't enjoy it? I didn't hear any complaints during those activites, especially that last one!" Brooke laughed as she raised her eyebrows in mock.

Honestly, that was one thing that had always made her feel a bit better, especially when she was hurting over her best friend and this boy's betrayal. She had in fact been the one to relieve Lucas of his virginity, she had something Peyton never had. Brooke had been the very first one to discover Lucas' body, sometimes she thought no one had touched it before her. But all the same, it was her body too. She knew every inch of it. She loved the way it seemed like it was made for her, how every part of his muscular anatomy seemed to be in complete correspondence with her own. She knew he felt the same way too considering he had been the one to bring it up with her. She'd never forget that night they had just laid in her bed and he had soothed her with his voice and caressed her arms. He had told her that not only was his heart hers, but his body too.

Lost in memories from the past, Brooke didn't even realize Lucas was speaking again.

"...definitely an unforgettable experience." Lucas finished.

Brooke chuckled and took a sip of her water. She decided it was time to ask about how his life was going.

"So what about you Luke? I'm in the midst of a famous novelist. Your first book gets rave reviews and I'm the celebrity? I bet you've had a million people tellign you you're their hero!" Brooke exclaimed honestly interested.

Lucas shuffled in his seat uncomfortably and took a long swig on his cocktail and drained it. He scrunched up his nose at the burn of the alcohol and gently dropped the glass onto the table.

"Yeah, a famous novelist who's career depends on his second novel which is nowhere near even beginning, let alone getting finished." Lucas said as he crossed his arms on the table and looked down embarrassed.

Brooke looked sadly at him for a minute trying to think of comforting words before she thought of the perfect quote.

"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it." Brooke said shyly hoping she had gotten it right.

Lucas looked at her impressed and replied softly, "Robert Frost. He said that...where did you learn that?"

Lucas was amazed at her in that moment. She was so intelligent, and not just because she had quoted a famous author who he happened to love, but because she knew what to say and when to say it. No one else in the world could make him feel better like she did. No one could make his worries vanish and put a smile on his face like she could. After all this time, he was still completely intigued by Brooke Davis.

"I just thought it would be useful. You read that to me before. When we used to lie in your bed at night and you read your favorite books to me, you read that. I remember all the things you read to me, some of it has helped me through a lot of tough times." Brooke said shyly. She hadn't really meant to admit that but it was the truth. She never forgot anything Lucas had said to her, she kept it all in her head and in her heart.

Lucas was still looking at her, he was fascinated. And for a fraction of a second, he looked like he was moving closer to her face. He lifted his arms off the table and propped his plams down against it as if he were going to lean over to her and grad her face and kiss her.

All that happened in a fraction of a second. Brooke had never felt so many butterflies in her stomach at once.

A fraction of a second could have changed everything...but those damn cell phones.

Brooke suddenly felt her purse ringing against her leg and it frightened her so much, she jumped. As she did so, Lucas folded his arms once again on the table and started to play with his napkin.

Brooke apologized quickly and looked down at the screen.

_Victoria Davis._

As much as Brooke didn't want to answer, she knew the consequences would be much worse if she ignored it.

As she touched the screen of her iPhone to command the phone to answer, she immediately heard before words even escaped her mouth...

"Why in the _hell_ are you in Tree Hill, North Carolina?!"

**

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**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I'm sorry it's so short, I'm not good at writing long chapters but I do update frequently so I figure that doesn't make it as bad. But anyways, let me share the inspiration behind this chapter. I was watching season 4 on DVD last night and for some odd reason, I wanted to watch the first episode of it, and as I was watching the Brucas breakup, my heart broke. I couldn't help but notice, like I have before but never really thought about it, how much Lucas' heart was breaking. Right before Brooke says, "I can't do this anymore", he says "Brooke", like he's pleading with her and in that moment, I could feel how incredibly crushed and desperate he was to keep her. It broke my heart because I'm so in love with One Tree Hill, sometimes I forget it's not real and I just felt so sad. But I loved the way Mark did the break up scene and I'm so glad Chad and Sophia made it real because I actually felt how hurt they both were and how very much in love they still were, still are, and that inspired me to keep their love alive through this story. I don't know why it made me inspired, it just did. Maybe with the music and everything else, I just wanted so bad to give Brooke back to Lucas so I'm really happy with this Brucas scene. Please tell me what you think of the chapter and where you think I should go next because I really do appreciate it when you do that. I feel like this is kind of your guys' story do since you read it so faithfully so tell me what you want!

Jessica :)


	9. Kindly Unspoken

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** No idea what I'm doing right now, it'll come to me as I'm writing. Enjoy the chapter!

**DISCLAIMER!:** The Writers Strike is ending Mark, so give us some Brucas moments will ya?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE[part two!**

This was a comment I posted on a youtube video of the Leyton fight in episode 5x06 and I thought I'd share it with you guys to let you know my take on that scene:  
"ughhhh, okay, aside from the fat that im a MAJOR brucas fan and i cant stand leyton together, ill pretend to be a leyton fan for a minute to explain lukes feelings: he wasnt insecure  
he wanted to marry her because he wanted to start their life together, he wanted her to always be with him and he felt like she was slipping away  
but since she said no and he didnt wait for her it only proves this:  
leyton is just not meant to be  
i love peyton, i just dont love her with luke, they dont understand each other the way they should, theyre too much alike  
opposites attract, thats why brucas fell in love  
and as much as i love mark schwann and this creation, i just dont like the fact that all of a sudden, out of NOWHERE, brucas broke up and lucas was heart broken and as soon as peyton told him she loved him, he decided if he couldnt have brooke, then at least he would have peyton  
theyre not destined to be together, he never chose her, he settled for her"

**

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**Chapter 9- "Kindly Unspoken"**

**-**

Brooke's mother.

To the outsider, and that outsider would only have to know the woman for a minute, Victoria Davis might seem...rude. Lucas thought that was a nice word for how to describe the horrible woman, even though there were plenty more terms that could specifically define her.

She was harsh and controlling, a terrible mother, ruthless to the bone, unfortunatley aware of how much pain she caused her surrounding company, and the Executive decision maker of one of the most successful fashion lines in the entire world--Brooke's fashion line.

Though her other flaws were extraordinary problems themselves, this last one was what worried Lucas.

He was more than aware of the fact that with the phone call Brooke was receiving at this very moment, the one where she was desperately trying not to scream at her mother while she was in a public place but was finding it very difficult considering she hated being yelled at, which she was because even Lucas could hear Victoria's loud mouth, Victoria Davis had not only the power, but the absolute pleasure of requiring Brooke to get on the first plane back to New York.

But Lucas knew Brooke wouldn't give up that easy.

"No! Because I don't want to go back right now! I'm doing something down here that I love, it's not like it's all fun and games! What do you mean?! I'm opening a new store for the line here, I'm making more money for the company!" Brooke was nearly shouting at her mother while she moved her hands in frustration.

Lucas wasn't catching everything Victoria was saying, but he got the gist.

Victoria wanted Brooke "home" now. And just like Brooke, Victoria would not give up without a fight.

"Well do what you have to do then, waste your time flying out here to find out I'm not going back until I'm ready!" Brooke screamed and jabbed the screen so hard to end her call that her phone slew out of her hands and into Lucas' lap. She didn't even seem to mind as she put her hands on her forehead in frustration.

Lucas just looked down at the phone for a moment, thinking it would give him a reason not to look at Brooke until her rage had slightly subsided.

When he thought it would be safe, he averted his eyes from his lap and onto the brunette girl sitting across from him. She had removed her hands from her forehead but now had her eyes closed and was taking deep breaths. Lucas was trying desperately not to laugh a little at the whole situation. He loved it when Brooke got angry, or at least when she got angry at someone beside him. She was so unbelievably adorable, the way she had to calm herself down before she could even breathe. He had known throughout her entire conversation with her mother that she would eventually get what she wanted. Even if Victoria did come to fetch her, there was no way Brooke would go.

Or, hopefully she wouldn't go.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked quietly as he handed her iPhone back to her. She just stared at it for a second in disgust, as if she never wanted to see it again, and then she grabbed it from his hands quickly and put it on silent.

"I'm really sorry Luke. I didn't think that it would get so out of hand. I should have known though. I knew she'd find out sooner rather than later." Brooke said embarrassed as she looked down at her lap.

Lucas reached across the table and took one of her heavenly soft hands in his and then spoke, "You don't have to apologize Brooke. I'm really proud of you. You stood up to your mom and your trying to start something good here. I just don't understand why she would want to take that away from you."

"Because she's not happy! She wants me to suffer becuase of her mistakes and I'm not going to let that happen!" Brooke replied angrily. She wasn't angry at Lucas, he had just told her he was proud of her, she just couldn't stand talking about her mother.

Brooke was constantly trying to please her mother, to satisfy her. Brooke wanted her mother to love her. But she didn't, as much as Brooke tried and tried to get Victoria Davis to admit that she had some sort of feeling for her daughter, it would never happen. So Brooke had to move on and start pleasing herself, her mother would just have to deal with that.

Lucas watched her shyly and Brooke felt bad. She had just snapped at Lucas for no reason.

"Luke I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that...I just don't really wanna talk about my mother. Or me, anymore. Tell me about you! Four years and you're still so much like the old you. Except the fact that you no longer have Peyton attached to your arm." Brooke chuckled slightly. She was trying to slowly coax Lucas into telling her why they broke up, but after a few minutes of silence, she knew she would have to take a more direct approach.

"Lucas, why did you and Peyton break up?" Brooke asked quietly.

She wasn't sure why she wasn't asking Peyton. Maybe it was because she thought that if she did ask Peyton, it would turn on her as if she was trying to get back with Lucas. She wasn't willing to risk her new approach to fixing her longest friedship just becuase of her curiosity. Also, she thought Lucas would be more willing to tell her.

"We just...didn't fit together anymore." Lucas replied simply.

Obviously he wasn't in the divulgatory mood.

He just looked across the bar searching for something that wasn't there. He didn't want her to know why he broke up with Peyton, that much was obvious. But this was unlike him, showing no emotion.

"You didn't fit together...well, at least you cleared things up for me, I really have a perfect visual of how it went down," Brooke replied sarcastically.

"Look, if you don't mind, I'd really rather not talk about it!" Lucas said a bit louder than necessary. Brooke looked hurt. She didn't really think he would have yelled at her.

Lucas instantly felt guilty for the reaction he'd just had. He didn't want to yell at Brooke, but she was so unbelievably close to finding out why he'd dumped Peyton and he wasn't ready for her to know. Maybe he would never be ready for her to know, sometimes it felt that way. He was nowhere near telling Brooke how he felt about her and if he waited to long, it would be too late-he knew that. Maybe it was already too late.

Brooke was looking at him shyly again, like she always did when she felt like she had upset him. She was afraid to say something. Lucas realized he needed to lighten the mood again, and apologize.

"Brooke, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, I just...I don't really wanna talk about me and Peyton. It's been four years and I'm just trying to move on from it all. I want to start over, I'm so tired of all the high school drama and anger. The three of us, it just doesn't work anymore. Maybe it never did." Lucas ended sadly.

By now, the restaurant was really quiet, there were only 3 or 4 tables with people seated at them. Lucas was about to signal the waiter to come and take his next drink order but suddenly Brooke stood up.

"You know Lucas, uhmmm...it's getting late and I really need to get back to Peyton. But thanks! It was good catching up." Brooke said hurriedly as she took her jacket off the back of her chair and slung it over her forearm. She gave Lucas one last smile and then walked out the door.

Lucas sat there confused. What happened? He didn't understand it. There they were having a good time, reminiscing and being normal and then all of a sudden, it went to crap. He knew he shouldn't have snapped at Brooke but he'd apologized and he tried to explain it to her.

Why couldn't she understand? He didn't want to talk about Peyton. He at least thought that even if she didn't know the real reason he broke up with Peyton, she would have had enough sense to know that Lucas was probably still upset about what had happened in general.

Brooke Davis was a girl he'd never understood...and that was his first problem.

-

Brooke was standing out on the curb waiting for a cab. Her hotel was only a few blocks away but she really didn't want to walk anymore. A night in heels was murder on her feet. Plus, she just wanted to stand for a while and breathe. Trying not to cry was a difficult task, it was one she thought she'd mastered. But when it came to tears and Lucas Scott, she knew her skill at controlling the threatening river about to roll down her cheeks was useless.

He said he wanted to start over...no more high school drama...move on from it all...doesn't work...never did. Those were the parts that Brooke was focusing on. They were also the parts that were hurting her. She could get over the fact that he was unwilling to talk about his breakup with Peyton, she knew it had to be hard from him still. But if he couldn't talk to her about it, maybe they wern't as close as Brooke thought they still could be.

And then there was "moving on" and "doesn't work anymore". He specifically said that. He said that about him and Peyton. To the normal person, that would be a relief-to know that the boy you love was moving on from his ex-love and wanted to start over. That would be great news for her to here if it wasn't coming from Lucas. It was something she couldn't explain, but it made sense in her mind.

If Lucas was ready and eager to move on from Peyton, if he was ready to say that it didn't work anymore, that it never did, Brooke knew she didn't have a chance. Lucas was giving up on Peyton, his precious Peyton that he had _always_ chosen over her, and if he was ready to live without Peyton, Brooke knew she was as good as a forgotten memory to him.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** This was not only a short chapter, but it also took me forever to write it. I'm sorry. This story is progressing to nowhere, but I'm not giving up on it. I guess I just have to keep writing and let something come to me. I have a few ideas, I just have to figure out how to write them. I'm sorry it took so long to write but I haven't had a chance on the computer, my parents constantly hog it. I'm gonna try to update soon and hopefully come up with a better chapter. I'm really sorry guys, but I'm not losing hope and you guys only help me more!

JESSICA :)


	10. I'm Ready

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Before I say anything else, I'd like to say that I'm nearly through watching One Tree Hill...or at least scenes I know will have Lucas and Peyton in them. And let me tell you why: IT all started with epidsode 5.07. I'm not the kind of person who will bash your opinion and tell you its wrong, I don't do that. But I also don't like fake things. And right now, I feel like the relationship we're seeing with Lucas and Peyton has no real foundation other than that of the first season. I'm ADMITTING, yes Leyton fans, telling you your right, when you say that the two of them were in love first season, I saw it then! The two of them were totally for each other in the first season even if Lucas was dating Brooke! But listen to me: that changed in the second season! I'm not saying that Lucas had no feelings whatsoever for Peyton, _of course_ he's always going to love her, be in love with her. But he chose Brooke in the second season! He gave them enough time to get over him and when it was finally all happening for him to make his choice between the two without drama, he chose BROOKE! And he stuck with her! HE stuck with her all the way til the fourth season when SHE dumped HIM! Not the other way around! He was HEARTBROKEN, he wanted her back and he didn't want Peyton, at least not until she told him she loved him and guess what?! He took back Peyton because she was there, not because he really wanted her more than Brooke. He couldn't have Brooke so he settled for Peyton. And the only reason they're together in the show now is because Chad and Sophia are divorced, and its hard for them. We ALL know thats the truth, if Mark would have kept true to the show and not the actors[which i'm not blaming him fro, I know it's hard on Chad and Sophia, we would all still have Brucas and I honestly believe that. I just had to get that off my chest because I'm tired of watching these Brucas moments in past seasons where Luke repeatedly says he loves Brooke TO Peyton, and then watching the Brucas moments now and hearing Brooke say "you guys are meant to be together" because that's not the way the story was going at all. The show is suffering because of a real-life situation. The Brucas moments now are so fake and so are the Leyton ones, I can't even watch them. Brooke would NEVER tell Luke that he should go after Peyton, _never._ And like I said, this is how I perceive the show to be, this is how Mark set up the characters in MY mind, and right now, it's too fake for me. Of course I'll still watch the show, but I'm just not happy with it at all.

Now that my ranting is over, I'll move on with the chapter. This will have some pretty adorable Brooke/Jamie scenes and maybe a Lucas/Skills scene also.

One more thing, I'd like to share a fact with you, the last time I took a CW poll, which was right after the Leyton proposal epidose where Peyton said no and Brucas kissed, there was a question something like Would you rather see Leyton or Brucas? ----56 answered Brucas and 44 answered Leyton

Pretty much every poll I've ever seen has been similar to that, with always a little more people answering Brucas and not Leyton. I promise you I'm not making that up either. If Mark did what a majority of his fans wanted, we'd have Brucas...but enough bashing him.

Let's start.

[P.S. The chapter title is the name of a Jack's Mannequin song. I think I really need to inform you that not all the chapter titles have something to do with the song they're named after. Some of the chapters have to do with a quote in the song, some are based off the whole song, and some are just that title because it's the name of a new song I found and liked. The title of this chapter was going to be "The City Is At War" because...well, just read and I'll tell you at the bottom.

**DISCLAIMER!:** Leyton is terrible and we need Brucas so I really shouldn't give you credit for making the show Mark, but I'm not about to go against copyright laws or whatever but you care more about making your actors happy than us, and we're the reason your getting paid! Tell Chophia to get over it, divorced people work together all the time, they've had enough "getting over it" time and they'll be fine! If they can stand next to each other at the 100th Episode Party, I'm sure they can do Brucas scenes.

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**Chapter 10- "I'm Ready"**

-

TRIC.

Short for "Electric Supply". Or at least that was where Peyton had gotten the name from: An old burnt out sign that read "Hurley's Electric Supply" although the TRIC part of it still seemed to burn bright, even after all the years it had been in use.

That was Brooke's destination tonight. She was going to TRIC with her two best friends. Her third one was still residing in the Big Apple, fuming over her sudden departure. Brooke felt bad for leaving Rachel without telling her that she was coming home and not going to Milan, but she had tried to make up for it several times. She was sure that her ex-fat-ass roommate would have found several lovely deliveries at their lush apartment by now, all of them being sent there by her personally. She had even invited Rachel to come down here with her. But Brooke knew, as Rachel knew, that the former terror in her life loved New York and wasn't about to come back to Hicktown...unless she was desperately needed by Brooke. And she wasn't...yet.

Last night's events, though, had led her to leave the red-head an extremely long voicemail at 3 in the morning. Brooke guessed Rachel wouldn't know how to feel after listening to her hilarious story that had her talking along the lines of a teddy bear who was well-made and loved by everyone that had seen it. The teddy bear was very popular, but no one wanted to adopt him. They all knew the secret of how he was abandoned by his owner and his owner's best friend, who shared him. They also knew that he tried to find his owner many times but his owner always stayed lost. The bear was completely alone, so he sat in the window being admired and passed by easily left alone with his thoughts and heartache.

She knew Rachel would get the message and would be calling her soon to yell at her to get over Lucas and she was ready for the lecture.

She was still upset about her conversation with Luke last night and she knew that was the only reason she'd called Rachel at all about him. That's why tonight, she wanted to spend time with her girls, her insides.

She was also ready to spend a nice and peaceful day with the only boy in her life at the moment.

James Scott.

Her adorable godson who, frankly, she had spent little to no time with since he'd been born. Today would be the second day since she'd gotten back that she would see him and she couldn't remember ever being more excited.

She had gotten up early that morning, or not really "up" since she never went to bed. She'd quickly checked to make sure Peyton would be okay for the day and stayed long enough to inform her of the plans they had tonight. She knew if she satyed too long, she would have heard Peyton's complaints. Then she headed over to Haley's.

As Brooke walked up the steps to her friend's gorgeous home, she remembered something. The last time she had been here, she ran into Lucas. At the thought of that, she nearly turned back around and drove off, but she was spending the day with Jamie. If Lucas was there, she'd just have to get over it long enough to pick up her godson and leave. No conversations.

She rang the doorbell, something she'd only gotten used to doing in very recent years, and flashed a huge smile when her tutor-girl answered the door obviously flustered.

"Brooke! Oh my goodness, thank God you're here! I'm so late already, I had to call a sub for my first class and I gotta go and..." She was interupted by Brooke.

"Haley, Go! I've got him! We'll be fine, go!" Brooke said as she smiled even more. She loved it when Haley was stressed like this, she always did hilarious faces.

Haley thanked her as she let Brooke in the house. She quickly grabbed her purse, keys, and laptop and headed out the door shouting a second thank you as it shut behind her. Brooke was still chuckling slightly as she headed toward the living room. She stopped short in the doorway though, the sight before her was a bit scary.

Nathan Scott. He was the brother of her unrequited love, an incredible basketball star, a once beyond-jerk-of-all-jerks, an ex-hook-up, her best friend's ex-boyfriend, her other best-friend's husband, and her godson's father. And now in front of her, she saw that he had become something so different. He was the picture of a broken man. His hair was shaggy, like he hadn't cut it in years. His face was overgrown with hair and scruff. His eyes were empty, the light that had once shown so bright in them had dissapeared like the stars do as the sun hits the horizon. And the biggest change of all was the 30 pounds of metal his butt had currently taken up residence in. And all that was just the physical change obvious in him.

"Hey Nate...uhhmm, how are you?" Brooke asked awkwardly. She'd been in town four days and this was the first time she had seen him. She knew about his wheelchair from her talks with Haley, but she had never expected to see him like this. He was so hollow.

"Brooke Davis. I heard you came back." Nathan said as he turned his seat to face her. She could tell the difference in his personality now. There were no "hellos" or "how ya been's" or sarcastic greetings. There was just emptiness. Suddenly, she felt worse for Haley than she ever had.

"Yeah, I'm back. I'd love to talk to you more but I'm guessing I won't get much of a response. It's not really something I'm used to, you know with me being famous and all, so I'd rather not waste my breath on someone who seems to be ignoring his friends and definitely his family." Brooke gave him a look of dissapointment and called to Jamie to get ready to leave. He said nothing back to her, they just stared at each other. She guessed that she had either hit him in a really tough spot or he just didn't care. Either way, her old Brooke fierceness seemed like it was going to come rushing back to her at any moment and she had to get out of that house and away from that man before it exploded all over him.

She walked outside and waited until Jamie came running out like a little ball of energy. She couldn't help but smile and forget her anger at Nathan when she immediately heard him start talking about how much fun they were going to have and all the things he wanted to show her in Tree Hill, like he was the only one that lived there. She knew this was definitely going to be a day to remember.

-

"_At first glance, she seemed like the same girl she once was. Still beautiful and brilliant and brave. It was like she never changed, and that was okay because who she was before was more than enough. But as soon as she turned to look at him, he could see what four years had done to her. It had shaped her into a woman, she was no longer just a girl. The moments in her life that would define her forever were the moments she paid the most attention to and she was attentive in that moment, when she looked at him. For the first time in four years, Brooke Davis looked at him like she was in love."_

Lucas was typing his heart away, he had so many things racing through his mind, so many ideas. But as he looked over what he just typed, he closed his eyes and threw his finger down on the delete button, hard. He grasped his hair in frustration and sighed loudly.

Idiot! That's what he was, an idiot. He _always _had the right words to say, words were his alibi, his friend in all situations. He had used the most special words on numerous occasions to descbribe the moments that he loved or to enlight happiness in the people he cared for. Words were always his way to keep his hope alive, to hold on to something. And to be there now, without the right words, without any words was beyond frustrating. It was painful.

He couldn't understand why everything he thought and then tried to put into writing just came out _wrong._ It just came out terribly wrong. It seemed like his thoughts were blurring themselves on purpose with his emotions and they all came out at once instead of seperately. All of it was starting to scare him. If words were abondoning him now, in his greatest time of need, what would he do? This was his job, his calling, to write. He was supposed to put ink to paper and tell wonderful stories that could change someone's life the way his books had changed his. It had never been so hard, his first book had come to him like flame comes to a fire. What was going so wrong with this second book?

He leaned back in his chair and just sat there, just sat there completely at loss for what to say or do. He stared at his blank computer screen and tried to imagine that it was really filled up with incredible words that he could send to Lindsey and she would be so proud of him and he would feel accomplished and everything would be fine. The problem with that though was he needed more than great words to be fine.

Brooke seemed like she was really upset last night, maybe he should call her. Yeah, that's what he'd do, he'd call her. He could use their visit last night as an excuse.

He grabbed his cell phone off his desk and flipped it open. He pressed the arrow that forced the list to continuously move down until he reached the number that he'd wanted to call a thousand times in the last four years, but had never had the courage to press the green button. This time he did.

The signal was ringing loudly in his ear as he paced around his room. _Ring. Ring. Ring. _Finally, the sweet voice he longed to hear picked up and said, "Hello?"

"Brooke! Hey, it's uhhh, it's me." Lucas said.

"Luke? Is that you?" Brooke said a bit overexcitedly. He had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with the fact that it was him calling her though because the next second he heard, "Aunt Brooke! Aunt Brooke, come one! We gotta go ride the carousel!" It was the voice of his four-year old nephew. Silently, he was thanking God that the man who was in Brooke's company was much too underdevolped for her taste, and also her godson. Their godson.

"Luke, I can't really hear you! We're at a fair downtown and kids are screaming and rides are going...why don't you come and meet us?"

She wanted to see him. Apparently he hadn't screwed up too bad last night.

"Jamie really wants you to come!" She added as the young one jumped up and down screaming "yeahhhh!"

Or maybe he did. But, being the dutiful uncle and godfather he was, he couldn't let his little guy down! And if he just so happened to end up spending an entire afternoon with Brooke, well at least he would have an excuse, so...

"Yeah, sure, I'll be there in a few minutes!" Lucas finished and shut his phone. He stood there for a second and smiled at himself for scoring a day with his pretty girl. Then, he grabbed his overshirt and headed for the door.

He would just have to do his very best to win the biggest toy at the carnival for his genius nephew.

-

Brooke was waiting on the bench, happily watching Jamie go round and round on the carousel. She had already went on it with him the past 5 times so she decided to let him go solo for this one. This day was turning out to be pretty perfect. She was spending quality time with her godson, she was at a carnival for the first time in over 12 years, and she had come to a revelation.

Maybe Lucas hadn't exactly meant what she thought he did during their conversation last night. After she had awhile to think about it, she reevaluated his words and took them to mean something different since she was out of her drunken state and hysteria. Maybe he had meant that he wanted to move on past their love-triangle like she thought, but that didn't necessarily mean that he was looking to close it with Peyton. She knew, just like everyone did, that their little threesome of betrayal and heartache would have to end eventually. And everyone knew that Lucas would end up with one of the two girls, there was just too much history and love with the both of them that could never be replaced. But he still hadn't made his choice.

The sad thing was though, both girls were still desperately waiting for that choice. She couldn't understand why she and Peyton were waiting for this one boy to decide between them. They both deserved better than that, they both deserved to have love with someone that didn't need to decide which of them he liked better. They were spending all this time waiting for Lucas Scott to make his final decision, just like they had always waited, and he was nowehere near it. So why were the two of them putting themselves through that? Why was Brooke allowing herself to fall in love over and over with a boy that would always love not only her, but her best friend?

She thought she had the answer, but whether it was logical or even correct was what she wasn't sure of. She knew she was in love with Lucas and always would be. She knew that she could picture him being in her life forever. She knew that she would always be attached to him and she never wanted him to make Peyton as his final choice.

And she knew that she was going to fight for him, but she wasn't going to fight forever. What she wanted and what Peyton wanted only went so far. They both loved Lucas, or at least Brooke thought so. The only decision that had yet to be made was who Lucas wanted? Who did he love more? For awhile, she thought it had been her. He had told her repeatedly that it was her, she was the one for him. But then when she broke up with him, he had told Peyton all the same things. So who knew which one of them he had really meant it with? Sometimes she thought that he didn't even know.

Basic point, Brooke wanted Lucas. She thought Peyton wanted Lucas too. Currently, neither had him. But she was done with saying he was "fair game." That wasn't true. The days of the two girls fighting over him were gone, she was goign to make sure of that. The two of them had made their choices and now it was his turn. The only thing she could do was be his friend and let what was meant to be...be.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't even hear him walk up behind her. She realized she must have had a glazed expression on her face, so to avoid questioning, she quickly changed it and flashed a wide dimpled smile.

"Hey you! Pretty deep thoughts huh?" Lucas said as he sat down beside her. He would always know her, how could she think he wouldn't notice she was thinking hard?

"Kind of. But I'm glad you came! You should have heard Jamie! I swear, he is _definitely_ Haley's kid." Brooke said proudly. She could see in Jamie already how much he was growing and how good of a man he would become. He was going to be strong and focused and brave. There was no doubt in saying that he was the perfect combination of Haley and Nathan. That was what made her love him even more.

"Yeah, he's a chatterbox. But he's also got Nate's skills. He can play some hard ball on the court, but me and Skillz are keeping him hyped through video games. He's a master at NBA Live!" Lucas said as he watched the little blond boy. Brooke smiled and looked between Lucas and Jamie. Maybe the reason Brooke felt so attached to Jamie already, seeing as she'd only really met him in the last few days, was because he reminded her so much of her friends. And Lucas. Not only did he have traits of Haley and Nathan in him, but it was like he was Lucas' twin. When she looked at him, it made her smile because all she could think about was how similar Lucas must have been when he was younger. The same blond hair and blue eyes, the same certain intelligence and knowledge they both had acquired at a young age. They both had the same intriguing personalities and curiosity in the world. Brooke had never known anyone like Lucas and when they were together, when she would just lie awake with him and listen to him breathe, she had always been angry that she didn't know him when he was younger. She'd always been jealous that Haley and Karen had known him his whole life. She'd always so badly wanted to turn back time and guide heself in the direction of a young Lucas because she sensed that if she had known him then, she wouldn't have felt so neglected and unloved. She would have turned out better than how she had been. Seeing Jamie was like seeing a little Lucas and it overwhelmed her. It made her think about how much she wanted a little Lucas in her life, a son.

But maybe that was getting too far ahead. She wasn't even sure if Lucas wanted to be with her anymore, how could she be thinking of having a baby with him?

Once again, she realized that she had gotten lost in her thoughts while Lucas was continuing their conversation. She decided to foucs on him and stop letting her mind drift off.

"So, you wanna ride the carousel?" She asked. Lucas looked at her suddenly like he expected her to know something, and then he realized she didn't know anything.

"I don't know, the last time I rode a carousel, it ended with me and Nicki having sex. Then I ran away to Charleston." Lucas said quitely. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking in the distance. He thought that maybe he would find something there, an explanation to the comments and questions he knew were about to be thrown his way.

"Oh." Brooke said shocked. Her face was blank for a moment, and then her hand flew to her mouth. At first Lucas thought she was going to vomit, and then he realized she was trying not to laugh.

She was defeated by the urge though, fits of laughter came escaping from her mouth and she was holding her chest thinking it would help her breathe. Lucas was surprised at first and looked at her dumbfounded. Then he started to laugh too. there they were, the two of them cracking up like they had never heard something so funny in their entire lives. It reminded him of old times.

After awhile, the laughter died down until it was just quiet chuckles. She looked straight into his eyes, still slightly giggling and said, "I'm actually kind of jealous. I always wanted to see what you would be like on a carousel." She cocked her eyebrow, put on a seductive smile like she had many times before, grabbed his hand, and started to drag him toward the carousel.

As they stepped on it, they stood on either side of Jamie's horse, and waited for the ride to start. And as the circular motion started, the kind that could make you dizzy but in the best way possible because you know how much fun your having and how everything else seems to fade away, Lucas grabbed Brooke's hand and smiled. They both stood there, just going in circles, a circle that seemed like it wouldn't stop, and for the first time in four years, the circle they were going in never seemed better.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** This chapter was actaully supposed to be longer, I wanted the TRIC scenes in it, but I knew there was no better place to stop then where it did so I ended it. I'm not sure how long it'll be until an update, hopefully not long, but I really liked this chapter. The passage at the end, about the circles, didn't come out exactly how I wanted it, and if I can think of how to reword it, I'll probably edit it later or something, but for now it'll ahve to do. I thought the Brucas/Jamie scene was the cutest thing ever and I was actaully inspired to do it because of a spoiler I read for the 12 episode. But, I won't spill anything :) Also, WE'RE GETTING 6 MORE EPISODES FOR THE SEASON! Thank GOD the Writers Strike is over! I'm so happy! I needed good news to get over this Leyton crap in the episodes.

And to tell you about the almost chapter title, "The City Is At War" will be the title of the next chapter because of the TRIC scenes. It was goign to be in this chapter, but since I ended it with Brucas/Jamie, I needed to change the title.

Jessica :)


	11. The City Is At War

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** Even though I didn't get any complaints about my rants concerning Leyton, in fact, I got quite a few praieses for it, I've decided that as an author, it's really dumb. I feel terrible because all I can think of is for example, a Leyton fan decides to give a Brucas story a shot, and they start to read mine and they think, "This is actually pretty good and not too anti-Leyton" and so they get into my story and then a few chapters later, they realize that all of my author's notes are bashing their ship! That's not what I want to do, I don't want to bash any ship! We all have our own opinions about who we think belongs together and we all have valid reasons to think that way, I'm sure Leyton fans have many arguments as to why the believe in Leyton so much, just like we Brucas fans. So, I want to give respect to all readers on fanfiction, and I'm starting that by realizing that bashing a ship won't make the one I want happen, and that we all have an opinion and that's fine. So, from here on out, I'm not going to bash Leyton, I'm sure everyone knows by my story by now that it's Brucas but it also is trying to show the reconciliation of the Breyton friendship. I'm going to talk about the good Brucas moments I notice in the episodes of season 5 and comment on them instead now, like this one: It's not so much Brucas, but in 5.08, I LOVED the Breyton scene. I love how it was so bittersweet, both girls are trying to let go of this one boy that they're both madly in love with and Brooke is an expert on trying to let Lucas go[even though she's never really successful with it wink wink and she's trying to help her best friend. That scene killed me, I cried.

Okay, so on to my story and this chapter, haha :) This is the first chapter that I have actually planned in my mind BEFORE I start writing and this is a HUGE deal for me. I'm still going to be making stuff up as I go along, but I'm super happy with the ideas I have so what I need you guys to do for me PLEASE, is to review this chapter answering this poll: "Do you like the chapters better when they are planned out ahead of time[like this one or when I make them up as I go along[like the previous ones?" I'd really like your feedback on that, this is your story too! I want you guys to have the best time reading it, and whatever I need to do to make my story better, I'm up for it!

**DISCLAIMER!:** Good job on getting us new episodes Mark, we love you! Your show is the best one on air and I'm happy that you made it.[We just need a little more Brucas:)

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**Chapter 11- "The City Is At War"**

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"Alright! This, my very oldest and most dearest friends, is dedicated to you! This _fabulous_ drink named after, of course, yours truly, is in honor of our reunion after four years! So everyone, let's get drunk off Brooke Davis!" Brooke said cheerily as music sounded loudly around her. She was so happy to be back in the company of her high school friends, the ones she had been so worried about never seeing again all those years ago, even though she had tried to hide it then. Now, after seeing them all again, she realized that there was nothing that could keep them apart, not even the time and distance between that had lapsed between them all.

She was also a bit shocked at how many of her old friends had shown, she had intended for it to be just Peyton, Haley, and herself. But, she was the one to tell Lucas about it while they were spending time with Jamie and she guessed he told Skillz and Mouth and all the River Court guys.

And then there was Nathan. He had managed to get himself cleaned up, including a haircut and shaved face before he set foot in public. She wondered how he had gotten it done so quickly. Brooke hoped that what she had said to him would get him thinking about the kind of life he wanted, and she liked to think that she was the reason he was here tonight. She wanted to help Haley and if that meant kicking Nathan's butt every time she saw him, or at least until he snapped out of his trance and got back to being the amazing husband and father she knew he was inside, that's what she would do.

As all her thoughts started to clear away, having to do largely with her alcohol consumption that was increasing like the hour was, she became incredibly relaxed. She loosened up and started to feel good, like all her worries were vanishing instantly. She loved this feeling, she wwished she could feel like this all the time. She knew that was impossible though. For the last four years, Brooke had barely had one beer. She decided when she graduated that her days of drowning her sorrows and heartache in alcohol had to end. There was just too much of both to keep doing it. If she wouldn't have stopped, she'd probably be dead by now. But tonight, feeling the way she did for the first time in a long time was...incredible.

And suddenly, she felt like dancing. And she knew exactly who her desired partner was...

"Luke!" Brooke said as she stumbled up to Luke. He was sitting at the bar with a full beer beside him. She pretended not to notice this though, she wanted him to be drunk like her. If he was, maybe she could convince him to dance with her. She sensed that if he were really the way he appeared to be now, sober, it would take some serious persuasion on her part. "Luke, come dance with me!" She said in a very raspy way. She knew when she talked like that it made his spine shiver. She remembered how she used to run her hand over his back on purpose every time she'd said something seductive to him just so she could feel that shiver. It always made her shiver too, it was like a contagious thing that spread through her whole body in less than a few seconds.

He looked at her considering her propsal for a minute. He stayed silent while he was still thinking about it, about the kind of harm it could do. Brooke was all ready to try again when he finally replied, after much contemplation, "Sure. Let's dance."

He grabbed her wrist and led her onto the floor. It was more of an upbeat song playing at the time which was perfect for Brooke. She loved to move her body along with the music. Even if it was a fast song, her body just moved in slow-motion but also in complete alliance with the sound. And dancing with Lucas always made it better. She just had to slightly touch her back to his chest and wrap his arms around her waist for her to feel like her whole body was about to collapse. It made her dizzy just being near him and he had no idea that he had such a strong effect on her. But tonight, tonight she was determined to clue him into what she was feeling. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was something else that was giving her the courage to let him in for this one night, she wasn't sure. The only thing she was sure of at the moment was her need to feel Lucas, every part of him.

So they danced. The beat kept pulsing through the room, bouncing off the walls and Brooke kept moving her body like a wave. She inched herself closer to Lucas with every pitch she heard and she slowly started to move up and down. She could hear hius heartbeat and feel his breathing behind her and she loved it. She had to restrain herself from turning around and grabbing his face, to not devour his perfect lips. She fought the temptation by moving faster with him.

By now, his hands were roaming her entire body. Her back was still to him, but that wasn't stopping his hands from exploring her front. He was scraping her stomach with his fingernails, like he was desperate to feel her body beneath a small part of his. His face was buried in her neck and he was taking in all the scents of her hair: shampoo, perfume, the outside air that had clung to each strand, and just the smell that was Brooke, her own specific scent.

They kept dancing. It was crazy how a 3 minute song could turn into a lifelong dance that never stopped, never paused. Brooke had finally decided to rotate her body so her chest was right on Lucas'. His head was bent down so close to her lips she could smell the toothpaste and beer on his breath. It was weird, she thought he hadn't drunk any alcohol. Why was there a full beer beside him earlier?

Her mind couldn't be as easily distracted this time though, his mouth was moving closer and closer to hers by the second. They were still dancing but they were clinging to each other for dear life, like if either one let go, the entire world would fall away and there would be nothing but dark and lonely emotion. She had to stop herself though, she couldn't let this happen. There hadn't been enough time so far for him to figure out who he wanted. He'd just reconnected with his two infamous ex-girlfriends 4 days ago, it wasn't possible for him to be attempting to kiss her now. What if he did and he regretted it? What if he pulled away and gave her a look of dissapointment, like it wasn't at all what he expected? She knew that there was no way she'd be able to live with that. She'd rather wait until he was sure he was over Peyton before she allowed herself to get close to him again. This couldn't happen...

But it was so hard to resist. The feeling she had was one she'd experienced thousands of times before. She craved his lips, to feel them on hers, to savor every taste of his mouth. And he was getting closer to her. There wasn't enough time to stop if she wanted to...

And it didn't stop. Like a wave crashing into the sand after moments of being pulled farther and farther in towards the middle of the sea and finally being able to let go, to reach it's destination. That was their kiss. She felt a hundred emotions at once, just like she knew he was feeling. He had buried his hand in her hair and had his other one on the small of her back pulling her body into his more forcefully. As an instinct, she pulled her hands through his spiky hair and pressed her body to his until she was sure he would fall backward. They were still swaying with the music, lips locked.

To feel what she was feeling was indescribable. The only people in the world who could feel her heart beat and pund against her chest were those enlocked in the kiss at that very moment. It had been four years since she'd had a kiss like this with him. With Lucas.

In that instant, she pulled away. She could barely breathe and she pulled her body off of his quickly. She darted her eyes around the dance floor suddenly afraid of who had seen the last few actions performed by her and her companion. She seemed to sober up dramatically and when she looked back at Lucas, she had to hold back a tidal wave of tears.

The look in his face was exactly the look she had dreaded. It was a look of sadness and dissapointment...but not the exact way she had expected it. It was sad and dissaponited in the sense that she had pulled away. She could see his emotions etched into his face like she was always able to. He looked like he would cry too. But why? Why was he looking at her like that? He looked exactly like her emotions if they had a face. Like he had given her evrything he had and it still didn't seem like enough. But he couldn't be giving her that look or feeling that way. She wa the only one in their relationship that had ever felt that way, she was sure of it.

Just when she was about to say something, her eyes were averted to a sight she'd never seen and could have lived her whole life without too.

Her mother...at TRIC...wearing the skankiest outfit she'd ever seen in her life...dancing with a man literally half her age...and smiling at a person she _definitely _shouldn't be smiling at.

Amelia Bowman. The only other fashion designer in the world who had come remotely close to rivaling her fashion line. Her enemy, and not the high school kind either. That girl could potentially ruin her career, her source of income, her whole life! Why was her mother even looking at her? And what in the hell was she doing in Tree Hill?

Brooke seemingly forgot Lucas standing there focusing his eyes between her and where she was looking. Brooke gave him one apologetic look, muttered somethign about how she'd talk to him about what happened later, and stomped over to her executive decision maker.

"Ahhh, if it isn't my runaway fashion designer? You know, CEO's of multi-million dollar companies don't normally flee their homes and vacate to not-even-on-the-map towns, but you always did seem to have a soft spot for this hole in the world." Victoria said as she smiled wickedly and took a sip from her martini glass. She smiled and waved at the man she had currently abandoned and motioned that she would only be a second.

"What are you doing here?! I told you I wasn't coming back until I was ready! And why," Brooke paused and glared in the direction of the evil skank concubine that had suddenly taken a liking to her mother, "is she here with you? Are you drunk and stupid? Not to mention too old to be in a club."

Victoria chuckled and replied, "Oh, my dear, insulting me is most certainly not the way to save your floundering comapny!"

"My company isn't floundering! It's not even doing bad, I'm opening a store in Tree Hill! I would call that progress." Brooke said icily as she did her signature move and placed her hand on her tiny waist while giving her famous death glare.

"Oh but it is! You see, the CEO, which is you, isn't there to watch over the magazine, the conference calls, and all the other business aspects that bring in the money." Victoria said sarcastically as she mirrored Brooke and did the same death glare with a hand on her waist. Brooke had gotten more from her mother than anyone had realized.

"I thought that's what you were there for, it's the only reason I hired you."

"Well, things change. For instance, your trip to Milan. Nice job though, sneaking away, it really was outstanding that you escaped your staff for even a few hours. As for me runnign the company, I would have. I called you and tried to get you to come home but you said, 'No! I'll come when i'm ready! I'm too busy taking care of my pathetic loser best friend and drooling over my high school love, blah blah blah.' I told you already, my dear, I will not run your company for you while you go and play. I left my responsibilities for your red head friend and I'm sure that she's made a mess out of everything so far. I called in today to check how things were doing at out headquarter store: sales are down by 10. There have been no new designs for weeks and the shipments to the store have been stopped. There was a conference call from Macy's yesterday to endorse a makeup line for _Clothes Over Bro's_ but no one was there to set it up." Victoria finished with a smug look on her face but decided that it wasn't enough.

"As I see your company is heading toward a downward spiral, I insisted on meeting with Amelia. I brought her here because I've decided to give you one last chance. Come back to New York with me now and we will straighten everything out in a matter of hours. Amelia and you could combine your heads for fashion to complete a fall line quickly and we could have it all ready in time for fashion week. Two talented girls like yourselves could pull it off in no time!"

"But if you decide to stay here, I guarantee you this: your company will fail in the worst possible way. You can't manage one tiny store here and lever your entire base in New York! There are meetings and shows you must do, texting and phone calls won't cover everything! Your life is in New York, Brooke! I will not manage the company alone, or at least not at my position! The only choices you have are to come back and we can fix the damage that was caused these past four days or you can stay here and watch your luxurious lifestyle go up in flames!" Victoria finished angrily. She was staring at Brooke but Brooke didn't care. She was confused and at a loss for words.

How was it possible that her company, a company that she'd been buliding for four years, a company that had nothing but success for each new venture it took, could be diminshed in just a few days? Brooke didn't believe it. She had been keeping up with the calls made through her office and she had been keeping tabs with Rachel. Rachel, her roommate, one of her best friends, a huge part of her line, would never let something like her mother was describing happen to her company! Rahcel was so good with all the legal and business stuff! It was one of the reasons Brooke had insisted she became a part of her board!

Victoria Davis did not have the power to ruin her company, it wasn't like Brooke had given her that many responsibilities to begin with! She had just made her executive decision maker. That didn't require a lot of taks for her to take care of everyday.

"But wait, Victoria, aren't you forgetting her third option?" It was the first time Amelia had spoken and Brooke had forgotten how annoying her voice was. It was extremely high pitched but incredibly nasty. Every word she formed was dripping with superiority and sarcasm. It was like a sickly sweet poison.

The smile Victoria was giving Brooke was one that she could read more easily than any other smile in the world, it was saying "Of course I haven't forgotten, I just wanted to wait for the dramatic effect considering this is going to change everything in your life."

She opened her mouth and the words that came out so smoothly and steadily were too much for Brooke to handle. Brooke was drunk, she was confused, she was angry, and most of all, she was still reeling from her kiss with Lucas. Before her mother had uttered the words she'd just heard, she thought nothing else could go wrong tonight, this is as worse as it gets.

Words were incredibly life changing, especially when they formed the kind of ultimatum Brooke had never expected, "If you don't come home, you won't be CEO of the company anymore...I will."

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****AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** This is NOT where I intended to stop, but my inspiration has run its course. I'm not happy with this chapter at all, but I feel obligated to submit it for my extrmely faithful and incredibly sweet reviewers. Basically, I had the whole chapter planned in my head, but it didn't come out at all like I expected. I mean, the basic pints did like fianlly having a Brucas kiss, Brooke's mom coming to Tree Hill, introducing Brooke's fashion rival, having Brooke hear her ultimatums. But the details and the dialogue SUCKED! I'm very loosely basing this story off the events so far in season 5, but not completely. I was relly happy with the whole TRIC idea from 5.07 though, so I decided to use the gist of it and just change some things. But I loved Victoria being there and being all skanky and Brooke calling her out on it and I loved the thought of all the gang being together again. But it just didn't come out like I expected. Basically, Brooke's company is "going downhill"[according to Victoria, wink wink in the time since Brooke left becuase Victoria refuses to do all the work while Brooke is off having fun and getting the money for it all. So Victoria tells Rachel that she's in charge of Victoria's duties now, not to mention watching Brooke's position as well. Victoria is offering Brooke to come home and do a new line with Amelia or she can stay and Victoria will become CEO with Amelia as the talent behind the designs. Want to know how Victoria would be able to swing that? It'll somehow pop up in a few chapters, although I'm not sure how to work it in yet. Basically, I hate this chapter and I'm really sorry that it's so bad. i'll really try to write you guys a better one next time. Maybe after a while I'll come back and redo this chapter but for now, I'm sorry, it has to stay. Reviews are definitely not necessary since this chapter really isn't worthy of them. 

Jessica :l


	12. Fix You

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!:** I know, I know! Trust me, I know you want to shoot me! I'm sooo sorry I haven't updated in forever, the fact is, I haven't even wrote down a single thing since the last chapter but I really haven't had time. I'm hoping whatever happens in this chapter will be good but once again, who knows.

**DISCLAIMER!:** THANK YOU for giving some Brucas hope back to us in various ways, most specifically with your interview saying that we shoudl never say never for LEyton or Brucas, even though we all know we want Brucas :) Thanks for giving us more One Tree Hill too!

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**Chapter 12- "Fix You"**

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What did a kiss really mean? Did all of them mean the same thing? Did every one of them matter? Or were some just acts of being caught up in the moment without anything else to say or do but capture the opposite person in a second and change everything they thought before?

That was actually a really good question in Lucas' opinion. Maybe if he ever figured out the answer, he could write it in his book. Things were always so confusing! Why, when his life seemed so perfect for a few moments, did it all have to be blown away by a strong rush of wind in the form of a slender brunette who seemed to love taking his heart and playing hide and seek with it?

He knew he should have called her by now, it had been 2 days and he hadn't heard a peep from her, quite unusual for Brooke Davis who could never resist talking. He wasn't even sure when or if she was heading back to New York with her mother. He was still trying to figure out why she came back in the first place. For a while, he thought it was because she was lonely in New York and she had missed her friends and her hometown. Then he thought it was because of Peyton. And even for a fraction of a second, he thought it might have even been for him. But now, he knew it was just her way of escaping the horrible dragon lady. It was like a test:she wanted to know how far she could get from her fabulous lifestyle before it was threatened and then she would know where her boundaries were when she decided to play hookey again. It was all a game. It always was before, and maybe it always would be...

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Alcohol. Such a wonderful thing for the person who invented it to think of. IT could drain away all the sorrow in the world, it sucked it all down to the end of the bottle. But there was a catch, when you finally reached the bottom where they had all been stored, you find them again, even more vicious than before because now they're angry.

That was the lesson of the day for Brooke Davis.

She had spent the last 2 days in her hotel with nothing but full bottles of the most expensive alcohol on the planet. Dozens of empty beer bottles, champagne bottles, scotch and rum, Vodka, and even Australian wine bottles, for some reason, littered her suite. She had done nothing but drink and cry, cry and drink since her mother had showed up with that nasty thief.

She hadn't spoken to anyone from the outside world in that amount of time and had ignored all her incoming phone calls. She realized this was a pretty stupid move considering she should have been dialing people's numbers non-stop with the news of her company going under. She should be checking up on every single store, checking stocks and managing the profiles and seeing the designs for each and every model posing for her magazine. She should be back in New York, living her life, the life that was fabulous and glamorous and totally built for her.

But she wasn't.

And she knew why she wasn't. Usually, not knowing why you were acting a certain way was what was scary. But not this time. Dealing with the reasons of why she was staying holed up and drunk was what scared her. And right now, there was no one to chase away her fears.

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He couldn't do it anymore. He had to call her. Aside from being constantly nagged by his inner conscience that was starting to annoy him, he just had to talk to her. As angry as he was at the way she had kissed him and then left, he still couldn't resist the need to hear her voice now that he'd gotten so used to it.

So, for the second time in 3 days, he picked up his phone and dialed '_Brooke'_. It rang about 5 times before going straight to her voicemail. He was hesitant at first...what was he supposed to say to her answering machine? '_Hey Brooke, it's me Luke, yeah, you know, just wanted to tell you I loved the fact that you kissed me the other night but I'm mad that you ran away'_. Yeah, that was lame. He hung up the phone before he even heard the beep and decided it was for the best to save himself the embarresment. He threw his phone down and was just about to bury his face in his hands like he always did when he was frustrated before he heard the doorbell sound.

He wondered who in the world was knocking at his door now? Haley was at school, Nathan was trying to overcome his depression slowly not to mention he was in a wheel chair and couldn't drive, Peyton was...well, he was pretty sre he knew where she was. And then there was Brooke. But it couldn't be her? Could it?

He jumped up from his chair at that thought and jogged toward the door. He decided not to pull back the curtain to check on the person on the other side of it because he felt like he needed the element of surprise, and surprise is definitely what he got...

"Hi Lucas! Got a minute?"

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"Peyton, this isn't working!" Brooke cried out, annoyed at the blonde's attempt to rid her mind of her plagued thoughts.

"Oh come on, when, in her entire life has Brooke Davis ever been able to resist a shopping day? You live for this Brooke, and well...alcohol." Peyton smiled at the joke she though she'd just made, but realized an instant too late it had absolutely no humor.

"Is that what you really think? That I'm still the same girl I was 4 years ago? That all I'm good for is spending tons of money on clothes and shoes and drinking all the alcohol in the state?!" Brooke shouted too loudly at her best friend.

"Brooke, no! That's not what I was saying! I just meant that they usually make you feel better and that whatever is on your mind right now is obviously bigger than you can handle by yourself! So how about you trust me like you said you would and tell me what's going on?"

Brooke was shocked at Peyton's pushiness. She'd never really tried that hard to get Brooke to open up before. But then again, it had never taken Brooke this long to talk to her best friend about her problems.

"I...uhmm, I just didn't have the best night at TRIC, I guess."

"You didn't have the best night TRIC? You want to elaborate on that?" Peyton asked sarcastically, she was good with sarcasm.

"Well...you know what? Later. I actually have a surpise for you! Come on!" Brooke said hoping her subject change would last her long enough to come up with a good story...

-

"Surprised to see me? Yeah, I bet you are...you know Lucas, I cannot believe you. I can't. I have done absolutely everything I can for you and yet you still won't talk to me. You won't answer my calls or my emails and I just really don't know what else I can do for you. You haven't given me _anything!_"

Lucas looked at the woman in front of him wondering if maybe he could escape to the front door fast enough without her getting a hold of his hair and pulling him back, **hard**. He waited a minute, and then decided it wouldn't work. He would be forced to talk to her and hope that the conversation wouldn't end with his death.

"Lindsey, look, I'm sorry. I know I've been ignoring you but I--I've been busy." Lucas said taking a semi-truthful approach. He had been busy, maybe not in the way his editor would hope, but it was good enough.

"You've been busy? Busy doing what? And if your answer isn't, 'I've been working long hours on my book and I've been coming up with brilliant ideas that I think your going to love', I would advise you to not say anything and follow me." She seemed to know what his answer would have been anyways because before she even gave him a chance to speak, she was walking towards his bedroom. He sighed before reluctantly following her.

She had already opened his word document on his laptop and had even given him a blank page. What he found odd was the number she seemed to be typing in bold at the top of it.

**__**

9/12/12.

"What's that for?" He asked quietly a bit afraid of what the answer would be.

"_That_ is a date. The date. That is the date of the day that you will be finished with at least the first 6 chapters of your book. That's what you owe me right now. I should have already had the first five chapters, but it seems I've given you too much leisure time to get them to me, so now I need them all, plus chapter 6." She stopped for a second to let him process all of what she had just told him and then she continued, "I'm really sorry to say this Luke because I love your writing and I love being your editor, but I also love being an editor period. If you don't give me those chapters by this date...I'll have to let you go. I'm not sure what will happen after that, I guess you'll have to find a new company, a new editor, all of it." Lindsey finished sadly and stood up straight.

She was trying to look him in the eye as if to convey all the regret she had about what she was doing, but he was having trouble meeting her eyes. He didn't want to see the dissapointment in them.

"I don't want to do this Luke, but I have no choice. I have a boss too and to tell you the truth, he's a lot tougher than me. Your lucky it's me telling you this and not him. I have faith in you Lucas Scott, your first book was amazing and I know that this next one is going to be even better. But you have to find your inspiration. Find it in friends or family or life...maybe love. You have a gift Lucas, you know how to use words and make them mean something. Don't lose sight of that." With that, she walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek, then headed for the door. He stood there in awe. Was this really happening? Was his entire life, his career, about to come crumbling down?

It didn't matter that he had 5 days to get the chapters done, it just wasn't possible. He had barely written a few sentences without deleting them in all this time he'd had to write 5 chapters!

Lucas stood there for...well, he didn't really know how long. Finally, when the pain in his legs signified the desperate need to have a rest, he sat down. He just sat and stared. His mind was in no state to process any kind of thought which was odd considering he should be typing away endlessly with brilliant words that would change the world...but he couldn't. So he sat. And brooded.

-

"Brooke! I can't believe you did this! This is incredible!" Peyton said in awe as she circled around her spot on the freshly polished hardwood floors in one of the most gorgeous homes in all of Tree Hill, a home that was apparently now the property of Brooke Davis.

Brooke didn't say anything at first. She just wanted to stand there and bask in the pride she was feeling for her best friend's face. Brooke knew she hadn't seen Peyton this happy in so long and it was all because of her and one choice she had made, one _right_ choice. But there was still more.

"Well, if you think it's incredible now, wait until you see this. Follow me best friend!" Brooke grabbed Peyton's wrist and led her up the beautiful flight of stairs fit for a movie where the princesses walk down them slowly and gracefully. They led into an enormous hallway and right smack in the middle, there was an open door where the two women stepped inside.

Brooke let go of Peyton's wrist knowing that she would be exploring as well as probably jumping up and down in 10 seconds time when Brooke delivered the news...

"So, how do you like your room?"

Peyton looked at her in shock for a moment and sure enough, she started to jump up and down crazily and soon it was contagious enough for Brooke to do it too. Both girls were jumping around and shrieking like they were 9 years old again and it was one of the greatest moments of Brooke's life for the past 4 years.

"Brooke! Are you serious?! I'm moving in here? Brooke, gosh, I can't believe this! Do you know how perfect this is? This place is amazing and it's so close to my office at...oh my gosh! I didn't tell you! Lucas is letting me set up an office in the back of TRIC. I didn't even expect it, he just asked me to meet him there a few days ago and he told me how he believed in me and how he wanted the three of us to be here together and...wait, why aren't you smiling? What's wrong?" Peyton had just noticed the fallen look of excitement vanish from Brooke's face.

Why? Why did Peyton have to mention him? Better yet, why did Peyton have to tell her everything he said?

He'd told her that he believed in her? He said he wanted the three of them together? Together in what way? Brooke had stressed herself, cried about, him saying that the three of them didn't work together and now he was telling Peyton they should all be together? She didn't understand it. And from the look on Peyton's face, Brooke could tell Peyton didn't understand anything either.

"Nothing! Nothing, I'm fine, I just didn't know that he's giving you an office, but that's great Peyton, that's so great! Now, you'll have somewhere to start your label and it can be your headquarters when it grows into this huge company and...it's great!" Brooke said in her true fashion of hiding everything she was really feeling from the few people that actually cared to know.

She could tell Peyton didn't exactly believe everything she'd just said but she would deal with that later. For now, she just had to put her worries out of her mind and focus on the one good thing that was happening: she was going to be staying in Tree Hill with her best friend and that was final, no matter what kind of ultimatum her mother had given her.

"Look Peyton, I know all of this may seem sudden, but it's really not. We've been home for almost a week and we're still staying in a hotel! When you called me to come back with you, I knew what I was doing! To be honest, I was thinking about it for a long time myself. This is where I want to be right now!"

"Okay, I'm really happy that you're glad to be back and trust me, I'm thrilled that you bought a house and that you want us to be room mates again, but I just don't know if it's that simple. You have this perfect life in New York and a company that needs you and people that are counting on you...I can't let you minimize all of that just for me!" Peyton said smiling slightly while making sure that Brooke knew she was saying this for the best.

"I thought you just said this was perfect!" Brooke said laughing at Peyton's quick change in heart. It reminded her of someone else too.

"It is...but..." Peyton sighed. She was doing that thing where she was trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to but without hurting anybody. Brooke was too used to that sigh, the last few times she'd heard it were some of the worst of her life. She tried to urge Peyton by gently shaking her arm as a way of showing her that she could take whatever was coming. Peyton continued, "Okay. Let me ask you something Brooke, and please, don't lie, just tell me the truth. You tole me at Blue Post that the reason you came back, beside to help me, was to find yourself. You said you needed to come home to figure out if this was the place where you would really start to live your life. You told me that you were thinking of staying here forever, moving from New York to here, permanently. When you told me that Brooke, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure if I believed you or not. I know you, I know you love it in New York and that you love what you're doing there. But you asked me not to say anything to anybody about possibly moving here forever because you didn't want everyone to get their hopes up. So what have you decided Brooke? Is this your choice? Is this why you bought the house and you're asking me to move in with you, because if it is, then this is something that's going to change your life. Have you thought about what will happen to your friends in New York? Have you thought about what's going to happen to the company?" Peyton looked like she wanted to say more but she stopped herself fearing that she may have already gone too far.

This was another one of those truthful moments that Brooke had been getting used to. Peyton had just opened up to her so it was time for Brooke to spill the beans on one of the two upsetting things that had happened to her at TRIC.

"Peyton, do you want to know why I had a bad night at TRIC? Do you really want to know what my decision is about whether I stay or go back to my "perfect life"?" Brooke questioned with no sarcasm, no cattiness, and no hidden meaning behind any of it. She had been thinking about what she really wanted to do for the past few days but she had been trying to close of the deep thoughts about it until the moment when she knew things would fall into place and she could be sure that the decision she made was the right one. This was the moment she had been waiting for, the few events in the last few minutes were what had finally made up Brooke's mind; Peyton's reaction to moving in with her, Peyton talking about Lucas, thinking about what would happen to everyone's life if she were to stay. She had her answer and she was positive that the perfect person to share it with was this curly blonde, this girl that had broken and fixed Brooke's heart so many times before. She had just re-repaired her friendship with Peyton after having minimal contact with her for four years and it was because of this that Brooke knew that Peyton was the first person that should know, and the second person would be a bit harder to tell, but it would all have to be done.

"Yeah Brooke, I want to know." Peyton stared at her with the fiercest green eyes and the second her eyes locked Brooke's, she knew that there was no way she could doubt her decision now...

"Okay. I've decided to..."

Brooke's ringtone, _'4 Minutes'_, was going off on her iPhone and she groaned at the timing that never seemed to work in her favor. She looked at her screen and saw a name she really hadn't expected to see...

__

Lucas Scott.

Fate really knew how to throw her the tricky cards...

**AUTHOR'S NOTE!: PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!** I know that it's been FOREVER since I updated and I'm so sorry, I have no excuse! And now, I leave you with a cliffhanger of what her decision is. I have so many thoughts that I need to share with you guys on this chapter, on where I've been and what I've been doing, but I'm afraid it will have to wait until next chapter which I'm praying will be coming to me soon! But, at least we get a new episode tomorrow! I've read spoilers for the episodes, even 5.18 which will be the last this season, and let me just say, we're in for quite a ride but there will be some pretty positive moments for us along the way.


End file.
